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!

[cazisalittlenuts]

I keep getting car accident calls and bloody ppi scammers calling my mobile despite every phone in my house being registered with the TPS including the mobile. Really annoying when I've never willingly given my mobile number out to any company online or off.

[NameChanger22]

I got into a long conversation with a scammer once about what other jobs/careers he could do that weren't scamming. I like to help where I can. He's probably helping the sick and elderly as we speak.

[BananaInPyjama]

we had a call from "Ruby'...gave her to my younger child (8yo). DC asked strange questions and Ruby got quite annoyed and said ' you are being mean and pranking me' then hung up.

Wahaha.

[Increasinglymiddleaged]

Sky offer call guardian for free. It's amazing to hear the sound of silence after all these years.

[PigletJohn]

If you're on BT, you can use their free scam blocking service. They have a register of known scam and fake phone numbers, and divert them to voicemail. You can add your own numbers to your blacklist. You can even block chosen "number withheld" numbers because they know the number even though it is not displayed to you.

See BT Call Protect

You can look online at received calls or manage your personal blacklist, and dial in to listen to any messages from blocked callers (I find they never leave them unless it is a recording)

I presume other phone companies offer something similar.

[Lokisglowstickofdestiny]

Someone up thread mentioned emails from HMRC and Amazon asking for bank details and when you click on a link it takes you nowhere. Firstly these organisations won't ask you for this info in an email and secondly if you aren't sure about an email never, never click on a link, it could download malware or ransoms on to your device.

[Orchardgreen]

I have a Truecall blocker. I rather miss my daily amusements.

[cakesandphotos]

I got an email from “HMRC” saying I had a tax rebate of £456.80.50. Something about that number didn’t seem quite right…

[StrangeLookingParasite]

They called you from India, were happy to get rupees, yet it's a Nigerian scam? Okay.

This is one of the most classic examples of the professionally offended I've ever seen.

[BabychamSocialist]

My favourite ones are the ones from "Microsoft" telling me I've got a virus and that it needs to be fixed over the phone. If I've got time I like to mess about with them, get them to go through their crap and then say "Oh I'm terribly sorry, I've just realised I've been doing all this with the microwave instead of my computer!" and then putting the phone down on them.

[TractorTedTed]

Natalia that made me cackle!

[LongWavyHair]

Hahaha I love it how people take the total piss out of these idiots

My dad pretends to go along with it (eg he has a computer when he actually doesn't) and then he "remembers" that he doesn't have a computer.

My oh farted down the phone once Very childish but very funny!

[Dumdedumdum]

I've just hung up (after saying bye first, polite even when angry) on someone enquiring about how old my windows are - but no she's not going to sell me anything. Kept going even after I said I was registered with TPS and should not get cold calls. Said you have to keep re registering with them - bollocks checked straight after and am still registered.
This has made me cross and a bit sad for some reason and is a bad start to the weekend. Why does a stranger get to come into my home (verbally) and argue with me?

[Dumdedumdum]

...I have also walked in on DH seconds before he opened our pc up to me of the Microsoft scammers. Wally.

[ZenNudist]

Dh good at dealing with these. Hes IT savvy so i know he once let them mess around in a virtual machine that suddenly acquired lots of problems that he got rid of whilst they were getting excited that theyd found a real mug. They were not impressed.

He said the other day he didnt have time to mess with a windows scammer so told her he ran unix.

[LinoleumBlownapart]

www.ted.com/talks/james_veitch_this_is_what_happens_when_you_reply_to_spam_email

[Ceto]

If I've got nothing better to do, I have a whole routine along these lines - assume several minutes elapse between each (during which I am in fact reading, checking emails etc):

Oh, OK, I'll have to go and get my laptop. It's upstairs, sorry, it may take some time as my knees are dodgy.
(Puffing a bit) Sorry, just realised I've left the lead behind, I'll have to go up and get it again.
(More puffing, random clicks etc) - Oh dear, it's the wrong lead, I'll have to go and find the right one. I wonder where it can be?
(Puffing, clicks etc) Right, that's the right one, I've just got to switch on.
Sorry, my computer takes ages to fire up.
Oh dear, it's frozen, I'll have to switch off and start again.
Oh no, I've done something wrong, I'll have to start again.
Oh dear, now the lead's disconnected, I'll have to start again.

If they last that long, I then go into stupid mode about hitting the wrong keys, not understanding them etc. I do enjoy hearing them at the beginning convinced they've hooked someone dumb enough to fall for the scam, only to hear more and more despair entering their voices.

[SusanTheGentle]

But it's not the Nigerian Prince Scam. The Nigerian Prince Scam generally involves, you know, a Nigerian Prince. Or similar. And yes they're not always from Nigeria but they are always a specific type of scam involving an email with an outlandish claim about needed to get money out of a developing country quickly, and you can have half, but you must pay £10k first.

They aren't telephone scams - what you've got here is a variation on the classic Microsoft Tech Support scam.

is dead knowledgeable about scams and hardly ever shouts at them, prefering instead to play along

[EvilDoctorBallerinaDuckKeidis]

squeaver Alex Goldman is brilliant!

[SusanTheGentle]

The proper name is advance fee fraud.

I did not know that charlestonchaplin - I am sorry, I should have rtft and apparently am not very knowledgeable about scams!!

[DJBaggySmalls]

I string the Windows ones along for as long as I can before telling them I use Linux. Gosh they get angry

A Nigerian 419 scam is named after the penal code for scamming in Nigeria, which is where advanced fee scams originated.
www.419eater.com/

[AcrossthePond55]

You lot are lucky with your calls!!! I'm currently hiding under the bed because a horrible man from the IRS has told me that I owe a gazillion dollars in back taxes and unless I pay them via money order RIGHT NOW they will send the police within the next 24 hours to arrest me for defrauding the US Govt!!!

[Notso]

I get the Microsoft/talk talk ones all the time, around four a week despite having been registered with TPS for years.

One told me I was the biggest liar in the whole world when I said I wasn't with Talk Talk.
The worst ones told me he didn't want to fuck me just let me suck his dick and one said he would fuck my daughter.
Mostly I just put the phone down.

[PressPaws]

Current popular one in Australia is fake tax department threatening to throw you in jail. They get really aggressive. DH keeps them on the phone as long as possible, pretending to be scared while taking the piss. He figures if they're on the phone wasting time with him, they're not scamming other people.