Lines of Communication
It was Nyel who was near the telephone when it rang. The conversation was short and it gave us a good chuckle afterwards. It went like this:
N: Hello
Caller with East Indian accent: Mr. Stevens? This is Bob Miller calling from Microsoft.
N. Yes?
B: We see that you are having trouble with your computer.
N. I beg your pardon?
B: We need access to your computer.
N. Why?
B: I can’t tell you.
At that point, Nyel terminated the call. After we finished laughing about the “I can’t tell you” response, we decided that “Bob Miller” really needed more training in the fine art of scamming. We speculated for a few minutes about who might fall for such a ploy and concluded that there are probably as many stupid telephone owners out there are there are stupid scammers.
That was Thursday. Yesterday it was I who took the call. It was one of those “Hello?” “Hello?” beginnings, neither of us apparently able to hear the other. That is always an alert in itself, but when I made out the words “Bob Miller,” I was at once bemused and on guard.
His spiel was somewhat different this time. Again he was “from Microsoft,” and again he needed to get into my computer. “Pings,” he said. “We are hearing many, many pings from your computer. It is going to crash.”
It happened that I was looking at my spiffy new computer as he spoke and I was sorely tempted to tell him that he was several weeks late. “You are letting those pings pile up for too long in your inbox,” I wanted to tell him. “You need to respond to pings in a more timely manner.” But I knew he wouldn’t get it.
Instead, I found myself becoming quite indignant and more than a little angry. “You are a liar,” I said. “You do not work for Microsoft. There are no pings. You don’t even know whether or not I have a computer…” But by then he had hung up on me.
There is something quite satisfying about making the scammer do the hang-up. So… bring it on East Indian Scammer Guy! This household has your number… so to speak
Our scams come mostly in emails. Especially those who claim to have lots of money to give us, but just need a little from us to prime the pump so to speak. I have taken to expressing my saddness at their situation and include the information that I will pass on their case to the Attorney General. Our scam emails have been less. The scary ones are those that come with logos for institutions we actually do business with like our bank or cable provider.
I have daily been receiving a computer generated phone call which I do not answer. I Googled the number and it came up as some company in Czechoslovakia and the information was written in their language. Don’t know what they want, but it can’t be good! So if you get a call from 855-357-2499, if you answer, let me know what they want! Otherwise, just ignore because I am sure it is another scam!!
Good grief, Sydney, you’re truly popular with those people! Didn’t the same thing happen a couple of months ago? Maybe after telling them off this time they’ll finally get the point and leave you alone. Love the photo, by the way.
This continues to be prevalent. I know folks who have been duped by it. The fees they charge come to around $185 and one customer (who turned them down) was about to pay but noticed that instead of $139 as they said, it was actually over $800!!
This is 99% about “human engineering” and not much about computers. Sydney you’re right about them not knowing if you have a computer or not!
Other than the cost to people, the situation is made worse because the phone calls from India don’t cost anything. (Some folks have been tied up for hours on the phone with these guys). So there’s really no downside for them. Expect it to continue.
Of course, if you have any questions you can always call me.
I can hardly imagine why anyone would take them seriously. Their ‘line’ sounds so bogus. But as P.T. Barnum said, “There’s a sucker born every minute!” Thanks for corroborating that we aren’t among them, Fred!