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!

[BabychamSocialist]

We're with TPS but I have noticed recently that they seem to be somehow bypassing it by spoofing the number to look like a local number so you'll pick up thinking it's someone from your area.

E.g. we got a call yesterday from our local area code but it was actually some call centre in India. It was very odd.

[fullofhope03]

Maiykat so sorry to hear this - Hope you feel much better soon xxx

Congrats to you Maryz ! xxx

[fullofhope03]

I've said it before and Ill say it again - I really must get a life

[DiegoMadonna]

The thing that annoys me with nuisance/marketing calls rather than scams is when I try to be honest with them in a nice way, and they still won't give me a break. I usually say something about knowing they're just doing their job but I do not want what they're selling and nothing will change my mind, and that they might as move onto the next caller. You'd think they'd appreciate that, but half the time they just continue on and on trying to change my mind.

[YesILikeItToo]

BT from India called me back! He was quite pissed off that I had put the phone down (after it had been established that neither of us actually knew if I was in fact a BT customer)

[RidingWindhorses]

My dad blows a whistle down the phone when they ring.

It's quite low tech but it seems to work.

[mmzz]

@Foniks sorry, but you misunderstand me. I am saying that there is something called the Nigerian Scam. Its a thing and that's its name. And it doesn't have to have anything to do with Nigeria to be a Nigerian scam.

However, the call i took was not a Nigerian Scam.

TBH I think you are being a bit professionally offended on this.

[mmzz]

@DiegoMadonna I think you and I are making the mistake of assuming that the scammers are willing to take our word for it that we aren't fools. I suspect they think we are fools and their evidence is that we are willing to engage with them at all.
The question they are then exploring is not whether we are fools but how foolish are we?

Looking back, i think I made a mistake not hanging up immediately this morning because they probably don't consider the words, just the amount of time I was willing to put into taking the call. If I am right, my number will have a higher idiot rating now on their system and I'll be getting more frequent calls from now on.

[wasonthelist]

I got one of the accident ones - so said, "yes, the accident was very serious, in fact, I died in it"

at which point he said something about intercourse with my mother and hung up. Charmed, I'm sure.

[IAmBreakmasterCylinder]

Squeaver I typed my post so slowly that 5 pages appeared and you had already mentioned Reply All!

Sorry for x post.

Don't you just love Alex?!

[LittleLionMansMummy]

I got a totally believable text alert from 'HSBC' yesterday which stated the following:

We have identified an unusual login attempt on your account. Login via the secure link to avoid account suspension LINK PROVIDED

The only reason I didn't click the link is because I'm not (yet) an HSBC customer, though I'm in the process of setting up an account. I've googled this and apparently the link takes you to a totally believable HSBC website that asks for bank account details to be input. They then clear out your account.

I can deal with the very obvious scams, but the scary thing is that they're becoming extremely sophisticated, even for the tech savvy people. Bastards.

[LongWavyHair]

LittleLion I'm now the sceptical about all correspondence from banks/retailers etc... and if I ever receive text messages like the one you received I always ring up whoever has sent it and/or go manually go through the website rather than follow the link provided. It's the only sure fire way of avoiding being scammed.

[LongWavyHair]

the sceptical should say very sceptical

[Olddear]

'Nigerian 419 scams. These scams can come from anywhere in the world'. I understood what you meant OP.

[thegreylady]

I just tell them they should be ashamed of themselves trying to scam poor OAPs like us

[SeaEagleFeather]

My dad blows a whistle down the phone when they ring

heh. Cruel but effective.

Now where did I put the kids' whistles that I confiscated ..

[mmzz]

Maybe putting them on hold is the answer. I called somewhere yesterday and after I had worked my way through 3 option menus they put me on hold for 15 mins, constantly playing their adverts over and over. It was very, very irritating!

[LadyWire]

SIL once had someone call her about her "broken computer" and how much it would cost her to fix, over the phone on that call, natch. SIL is a software engineer and ended up totally bamboozling the caller...

[etsiketsi]

It's a sport in our house. How long can you keep them chatting? Seven and a half minutes keeping them from bothering someone else so far this week. We listened to a really interesting piece on Radio 4 in Aug where an IT journalist identified the scammers. Scam was there's a PC problem they need to fix, they mess about with your settings when you give them remote access so it appears knackered, then they ask for money to fix. When he gave them remote access he had their LinkedIn profile on his desktop 😂. He then travelled to India to meet them.

[Hortonlovesahoo]

I've been at my parents when they call and despite my dad thinking he's savvy and not gullible, he's fallen for it a few times.

I've played the game to keep them hanging on as much as possible

[AnneElliott]

I get loads of these too! Especially the Microsoft one. Luckily for me, I went to a multicultural school and can swat in several Asian languages. I just go through my repertoire until they get offended and put the phone down.

I also get the accident ones. Sometimes I tell them I died. One woman told me I was making light of a serious issue. I replied that scamming people made it very difficult to occupy the moral high ground imho.

Another tactic I use is to pretend to be a police control room. I tell the 'Inspector' it's another dodgy call that we need to trace and deal with. Amazing how quick they put the phone down!

[AnneElliott]

Swear! Not swat!

[SilverySurfer]

I hate these calls. If they ask if I have recently been in a car accident, I say 'yes'. They then ask if I was injured and I tell them 'sadly not, I was killed'. Cue muffled swearing and the line going dead.

Likewise, if i can be bothered I keep Microsoft scammers on the line for 45 mins, doing my doddering old lady act and then tell them it says Linux on my screen, is that the same as Microsoft? If I can't be bothered then I wish them a slow and painful death.

[Uhohmummy]

I had one of the BT broadband/India calls last week. I was polite but within seconds was sure it was scam so said "no thank you, I don't believe you, goodbye" and hung up. He than rang me back TWICE and in the end I had to get nasty and threaten to ring the police.
AnneElliott I'm going to try the police control room tack next time!

[Uhohmummy]

^when I say get nasty I don't mean swear or being verbally abusive, by the way. I just mean threaten to call the police.