On Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 8:38 PM, Ian Thomas <[email protected]> wrote: > As a follow-up –since it is nearly Friday now – I thought this was a very > analytical and almost cruel response to our hard-working friends in the > (mainly) off-shore call centres. After all, they’re only trying to earn a > quid (or rupee), and some of them may be better educated than us and earning > very little for their education and the sacrifice to get it. > > > > I know their drill, and have the process down pat with these guys. > > I did this several months ago, and managed to keep them on the phone for > about 50 minutes playing as a dumb end user. > > I even allowed them remote access to a sandboxed VM, and recorded the screen > session. They get you to go to run and type “inf virus”. It opens the > C:\Windows\inf and they tell you that each of the files listed is a virus J > Next, they took remote control of the VM using Citrix GoToAssist, and opened > the Windows System event log, and said that everything with a red x is a > virus. I threw them because I cleared the System event log prior and it was > only informational messages displayed! So the guy stumbled, and said because > there was more than 20 informational events, that it was a virus.
With the comments recently about OS versions, I'd be tempted to throw them a version of Win3.1, or Metro... > > Classic… I had to help them along with the scam because they were so bad at > it. > > Following on, the rest of the scam is to download a their software from > amazon, for around $300 or so to fix the problem, at which point I kept them > going on in circles. > > They caught on at this stage, and after speaking to about 4 different people > they realised they weren’t getting anywhere with this “dumb arse” end user J > > I traced their sources, IP addresses logged, and the screen recorded. > > Submitted to AFP with the evidence – got a phone call from the AFP a week or > so later, saying they traced it back to a service run out of Sydney, but was > VoIP and sent offshore from there, so they couldn’t trace it any further. > Damn! > I think I have done my civic duty J > > Usually, I just resort to telling them (the helpful computer maintenance > guys) to go away, and then I end the phone call. > > I have more problem with (local) charities that have somehow got my number > and name, and won’t be told to desist. And they are exempt from the > Australian “Do Not Call” Register. I want a 1900 number. THat'd make it worth my while keeping them on the line. -- Meski http://courteous.ly/aAOZcv "Going to Starbucks for coffee is like going to prison for sex. Sure, you'll get it, but it's going to be rough" - Adam Hills
