Do you play along with those 'have you had an accident' cold calls? 😜

[JFDIYOLO]

I usually have some fun … then I spotted a twitter thread and have been taking notes for next time cos I really must up my game!

Some favourites:

'I did the same. Told them I must have amnesia from the accident and I'd like to claim. So they asked me for details, I said I couldn't remember but if they knew I had an accident, they could tell me what happened. Just went round in circles after that till they hung up.'

'I once told an ‘accident’ company during a scam call that my ‘injuries’ had involved decapitation. They continued the call…
I was happy to waste their time and gradually explained that I’d lost my ability to see/hear/speak etc. They just didn’t get it… 🙄'

'Saying you've had both of your legs bitten off by a Giant Crocodile, normally shuts them up.'

What are your favourite answers?

It's just someone putting a roof over their head and maybe providing for their kids. Not a job I'd choose but if I had limited options and had to pay the bills to survive I'd do it and would hope people wouldn't treat me like a pile of shite on the phone. Just politely say you're not interested and hang up.

I don't. I know this isn't in the spirit but at the end of the day it is really my own time I'm wasting if I do isn't it. i'd rather just hang up, block the number and get on with something I enjoy/that needs doing.

I imagine they must be bored of hearing the "I died in it" line, and in the case of it being an actual call centre and just a person doing their job I can't really see what satisfaction there is from making a hard day even more tiresome.

I don't get many ambulance chaser ones snymore, but get loads offering me cheap I phone deals. I played along with the last one until they started asking for bank details. I pointed out I had a company phone, so they'd need to talk to my employers. Said I worked for police Scotland, and gave their number as 101. Went on for aged, until they eventually swore at me and hung up.

You want me to be polite to scammers? I'll bet you'd think differently if your dear old gran had been conned by one of these.

If I'm in the mood, I'll play the 'I've had two accidents recently, which one are we talking about?' scam back at them.

I've been known to sink to the level of "does your mother know that you do this for a living"?

It's different to scamming though isn't it? They're just trying to drum up business whereas scammers want to take your personal money.

The scammer’s algorithms are simple- if number A hangs up immediately and number B spends 15 minutes on the phone, guess who gets called back again and again.

You are feeding the beast by staying on the call, even to play with them. My parents got more scam calls than anyone I know because they would stay on the line to mess up the caller, thinking they were doing a public service. What they were doing was telling the spammer’s computer that they were a better scam chance than people who hung up immediately.

It's not a simple 'drumming up business'. It's preying on the vulnerable.

It's different to scamming though isn't it? They're just trying to drum up business whereas scammers want to take your personal money.

They're lying, and they surely know it. This is not a legitimate business strategy.
I don't have time to play games, I either just hang up or sometimes say something like 'you must know you're lying' first.

I sometimes wind them up but one of them once said "you motherfucker, I know where you live and I'm coming to kill you" nice.

They are indeed lying. And they know it.

They start by saying they're phoning about an accident you've had. They've no idea whether you've had an accident or mot, so that's a lie from the off.

As for feeling sorry for them - they called me uninvited, wasting my time. If I choose to waste their time in return, they deserve it.

I tell them I've been in an accident, but that I was drunk/on drugs/banned from driving at the time. They soon hang up on me.

I say that yes I have had an accident but that I can't talk because I need to go and change my underwear.

I keep them going until I'm asked to spell my name, then I say P H U K O F F . They usually hang up then

I usually just ask them to wait a minute while I go and get the person they are calling for then put myself on mute and go about my day while they wait.

Last call I had like this I was actually in hospital at the time (labour ward, childbirth) so I just said "Did I? An accident? Well I'm already in the right place in hospital then, let me pass the phone to the hospital doctor right here so you can tell them what happened and they can check me over..."

😆

I’ve done this as well, it’s so funny 😆

I had one once at work, my colleague took it from me. He went all through their questions etc, with plausible answers ...until they asked what the issue was.
He told them that the wheelchair he'd been given had a squeaky wheel. 😃

Yes, I once told them DS fell off his bike, asked what treatment was needed and said a kiss and Mickey Mouse plaster

I told them once that my dh died in the accident (they loved that), and my dd told me to tell them I had suffered a brain injury as well so could not remember the details of the accident. I told them to call the police as they have full details and are prosecuting the other driver. I even gave them a made up incident number. They kept asking for my details but I kept repeating the above and eventually they hung up on me. I had time to kill that day. When I am busy I just ask them what they get out of scamming people. That results in a hang up too

I love it if I have the time.

My favourite persona is 'daft old lady who's slightly deaf' which means they have to say all of the nonsense twice. I normally invent a seriously injured family member in my fictional crash ...

When they call back I insist that I have another company already dealing with it.

Wastes loads of time and prevents them calling others.

Reading this made me realise I haven't had an accident cold caller for ages - I miss them, although I am literally just off the phone with "the man from BT" who insisted I sat in front of my computer with a pencil. He got off the phone pretty sharpish when I asked for my BT account number, although that was a fairly tame call.

My usual go-to is a swift "I've cleared away the blood, you can come round now" whispered down the phone before they have even had chance to say anything. They always hang up fairly quickly after that!

We used to get timeshare ones telling us we had won a free holiday. DH (we ran a hotel) used to exclaim at the coincidence and tell them they had won a free holiday too. He would take down details of name, number of adults etc. Read them the menu so they could pre-order. Talk them through local activities. He had a great time.

They usually got fed up half way through him listing all the different ways they might want their eggs cooked.

It's not fair to string them along as their pay is based on call rate.

I won’t sleep tonight for worrying about that.

But you'll have gone on a sucker list as someone willing to engage - and their thinking is they might not get you this time, but at some point they will. Engaging is doing exactly what they want.

You are feeding the beast by staying on the call, even to play with them. My parents got more scam calls than anyone I know because they would stay on the line to mess up the caller, thinking they were doing a public service. What they were doing was telling the spammer’s computer that they were a better scam chance than people who hung up immediately

Pointed this out to a colleague, who'd persistently engage to get them to stop calling her and paradoxically giving them exactly what they wanted - her time and attention. We compared number of calls received over a week. Her - 20 or 30. Me - none - because when I realise it's a scam call, the call's cut off and I don't speak.