I just got a call...

[mmzz]

BT from India... problem with my broadband. I laughed. he asked why? I said its a well known scam.
He asked do I have a bank account with at least £10k?
I asked why, even if he was from BT, would he think that's any of his business?
he said so that i could send it to him in India.
I asked if he'd like it converted into rupees first.
He said that would be good.
I asked for his bank account details. he said no, it needs to be moneygram.
I asked if that was because the police would catch him if I had his bank account? He said yes it was.
I confirmed that would be because he was a fraudster and I'd be his victim.

At this point, i think he knows that its not going to happen. But a minute later he ask me to get on with it. He asks if I think he is stupid.
I say no, i don't think he's stupid because I believe he knows that there is no way on Earth that I'll be sendinghim any money at all.
Then he just politely thanks me and hangs up!

[charlestonchaplin]

At least make sure it is the right type of scam before you slur the Nigerian people. The proper name is advance fee fraud. Where you're promised a great payoff if you help the scammer release some funds/clear a cheque etc.

Calling someone, pretending to be from a trusted company that they use and tricking them into giving you their money or bank access is not advance fee fraud and not particularly associated with Nigeria or Nigerians. In fact all the cases I have heard of recently have been UK-based.

[FruBayerischOla]

A few years ago I took a call at work - it was the Windows one. Knowing what was going on, I said to him that, as he had phoned a small branch office, he needed to speak to our IT manager at head office. He assured me that he'd already spoken to our IT manager at head office. Funnily enough when I asked him what our IT manager's name was ... he hung up on me!

[charlestonchaplin]

No, converseandjeans. There is a particular type of scam associated with Nigeria, as your link says. It does seem that some of you are determined to link all scams with Nigeria.

[Dancingfairy]

I don't get the car accident ones at all, they get very angry if you don't agree, I don't even have a car. So how does it work?? They want me to believe that I do?

[niknok69]

I had a call about the old scam your computer is at risk!
I went through the motions with him and when he asked what was on my screen I said "It says Wanker" he said pardon so I repeated "It says Wanker" He said what is this Wanker! I nearly peed myself

[LurkingHusband]

Every moment you keep them busy, they're not scamming someone else.

If Theresa May really wanted to improve the UKs well being, she'd set up a massive call centre with young unemployed to catch these calls, and make it so unprofitable that the scams collapse. She could even charge the rest of the (English speaking) world.

[BellaNoche]

mmzz
Why not just block them... don't engage...

@charlstonchaplin
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[Peakyblinder]

Jesus christ people can't just take a lighthearted thread and go with it these days do they !! It has to be picked apart by the professionaly offended....

[alltouchedout]

I give the phone to ds3. They end the call quickly. Apparently they do not appreciate the insane adorable babblings of a toddler. Who'd have thought?

[Airbenders]

^Jesus christ people can't just take a lighthearted thread and go with it these days do they !! It has to be picked apart by the professionaly offended...."

Yes I agree. I mean why should all those Mners from Nigeria be offended? Political correctness gone mad .

[Caenea]

I like to mess with the accident ones by getting hysterical about this terrible accident I have no memory of.

They stop calling after that, funnily enough...

[mmzz]

before you slur the Nigerian people geez

[Storminateapot]

I'm receiving 9 or 10 international calls s day right now from a different U.K. number each time (My phone shows it's international but also displays the number). I ignore mostly but every time we do answer it's someone wanting to talk to me 'about my phone number'. They have some way for me to block nuisance calls apparently. Little appreciating the irony that the only nuisance call that's bothering me is them! I can't block unless I block all international calls because it's a slightly different number each time. I've told them to take my number off their database but they don't.

[Getoutofthatgarden]

Except that's not what you described is it mmzz? You described a completely different scenario

No she didn't. I understood it perfectly well. Stop being so awkward, you're being a pain in the arse.

[Motherofterriers]

I get a lot of computer ones. I tell them they need to speak to the IT department and I'll have to put them on hold for a minute, then leave the phone next to the radio....

[squeaver]

this is a great episode of the podcast Reply All all about these calls.

[NataliaOsipova]

I got one of those calls. He started with "Hello, I'm calling from BT to help you with your computer." I burst out laughing. He asked what was wrong. I said that, as the last time I'd needed BT to help with my computer I'd sat on hold for 45 minutes and had to wait a fortnight for an engineer, it was the most ridiculous scam ever to claim to be from BT and proactively trying to help me. He hung up on me as I chuckled!

[LurkingHusband]

Times like this I miss our landline ..

[Tighnabruaich]

Husband answered one of those 'it's about your car accident' ones and he just said, deadpan, "Oh, I died in that accident." There was silence for a bit and then they hung up.

[charlestonchaplin]

Getout I guess you are one of those people who delights in their ignorance. The OP used the wrong term, and when this was pointed out to them they persistently defended their (wrong) position.

[Allergictoironing]

I love the "Windows Company" ones, as though I'm not a techy I do have a background in IT. Last one I asked him politely which of my Windows machines this "problem" was on, he said the Windows one. I explained that I had 4 Windows devices at that time (true - 2 PCs, a laptop & a phone) and if he could tell me which version of Windows was on the device that had a problem I could track it down.

This he didn't seem to understand, so I helped him even more by giving him all the Windows device versions I had in use and he was so thick that he didn't even think to say one at random. I think I managed to keep him on the phone for well over 20 minutes - well I was bored that day, and it keeps them away from more vulnerable people.

My NDN regularly gets car accident, Windows and PPI calls, and I'll sometimes get the phone for her if I'm there. She doesn't have a computer or even a smart phone, can't drive, and has no credit cards & never had any loans; no mortgage ever as in council housing. They get very offended when I threaten to report them for hassling a vulnerable pensioner.

[Willow2017]

An elderly relative of mine gets these computer scams regularly. She acts all worried and 'does' exactly what they tell her to do with her computer, and when they think she has 'opened' the computer up for them to hack they ask her what the screen says, she tells them.... "Nothing, I am 90 and dont have a fucking computer, stop trying to scam me you pratt" She is ace No flies on her.


I got a new one the other day, apparently BT were concerned that their internet connection/speed was slow in my area and were currently working on it locally. (I am not with BT anyway) I was supposed to turn on the pc to verify connection etc etc. Yeah cos BT give a toss. There are 2 'junction boxes' near me and if there isnt an engineer working on one when you pass you think it must be a good day!

[WhatdoImean]

I had a couple of these, the "This is Microsoft and there is a problem with your computer" type ones :-)

Was quite fun, as I work in IT, so knew the call was a total scam. So..... ended up putting my 2-year old DD on the speaker phone. She thought it was great fun... Cue lots of shouting of "Hello!!" by her, and more and more frustration by the person on the end of the phone. Was great fun (for both me and DD anyway) :-)

[Willow2017]

Tighna

Ooh I am going to use that next time I get one of those accident calls, seem to get them pretty regularly.