I Had A Scam.

[rrich]

We have that kind of scam here too. Depending upon my mood I'll do one of two things.

1: OMG! Which computer
nonsense
Well you have to give me the IP address of the computer so we can fix the problem. We have 27 here.
nonsense
I can't tell, I need the IP address
nonsense
Come on you need to tell me which one. The address should start with ten dot.
(At this point the almost intelligent ones just hang up knowing that ten dot is a not-routable address. Otherwise we don't get past the IP address.)

2: Which computer? We have quite a few here. (Then I push a few keys on the phone)
nonsense
Let me explain what is going on here.
nonsense
In about 30 minutes I will get an E-Mail from the telephone switch. It will contain your exact location in GPS coordinates down to the nearest meter. It is too late for you to hang up. (Almost all do, however if they don't I'll continue.) I will give your coordinates to Vinny in Philadelphia. As a retired FBI agent, Vinny owes me big time. He will give your coordinates to his cousin, Guido, in Palermo. Guido is a 'Problem Solver'. You have just become Guido's latest problem. You can expect a visit from Guido to solve the problem.


I did have one explode and ask if I was threatening him. I answered that I was just explaining the consequences of your little scam and have a nice what is left of your life.

I only got the network problem scam phone call twice.

[rustynail]

I was getting a few scam callers a while ago but after the last call we haven't had a single one in about six months. The caller told me there had been an accident or something similar and I agreed with him as he had rung the NSW police dept and we have a few accidents. He asked me to repeat who he had rung and I told him and then said all calls to this number were traced. He then asked me what he should do!! I advised him it might be a good idea to hang up before the trace was completed. Fair dinkum, some of them are as thick as two short planks. I am guessing that our number has been removed or I hope it has because the next one will get exactly the same treatment.

Impersonating police officer - Chargeable offence.

[AlexS]

Impersonating police officer - Chargeable offence.

So who's going to report you?

[david.elliott]

I think it's ~$6.00 per month to have calling number display on my landline...anything we don't recognise, shows "overseas" or an 02 8219 XXXX number that is the Epilepsy Action Australia gets ignored...those guys have been really persistent..
Of an evening, we get the call on the landline at home, and then my mobile immediately afterwards...and at work I get the call most days about 12:00 ish on my mobile...I know it's them coz I called back once and it says welcome to EAA and then hangs up...

Something that really has my back up currently is the fundraiser tactic of thanking me for my past support...at that time I arc up and challenge the statement asking when and how much...and can I get it back...I really need it now...
Had one yesterday at work on my mobile, and in the opening statement she mentioned Dunn & Bradstreet...which is usually guaranteed to get your attention...then tried to get me to accept free investment advice...
When I kept talking over her and asking her to explain the D&B connection she hung up...

[doug3030]

Believe it or not, blowing a whistle down a phone line can be construed as a form of assault according to a recent article. Pity; I bought a whistle just for annoying phone calls.

And is probably a wast of time as well - callcentres use amplifiers which filter out any sound loud enough to cause hearing damage or pain, at least the ones in Australia do because of duty of care to the employees. They are mass produced and so would be available to the overseas centres as well.

I just ask them for their card number. They ask what card number. I tell them we take visa or mastercard. they ask why I want their card number and I reply that there is a $25 fee for calling this number. They ask what is the fee for and I tell them that i cannot answer that until after they have paid. Every time they try to go back to their script, ask for their card number again and do not talk to them about anything other than the card number. They usually do not last long.

Cheers

Doug

[markharrison]

My favourite is what a friend of mine does. She picks up the phone and whispers into the phone "It's done, but there's blood everywhere".

[crowie]

Tonight I was mentioning this thread to a dad at gym who is a Telstra Engineer...
He said that he happened to be working from home when one of the scammer rang the house; he asked for the employee number and as he was already in the system did a profile search on the said employee number coming back to the scammer saying that's wrong. The scammer protested and the Telstra Engineer identified that he worked for Telstra, was working from home and had just completed an national and international employee's search against the given employee number and before he had the opportunity to question the scammer further the busy tone was in his ear....SPRUNG!!! His thoughts on the matter are that the scammers know Telstra and set up a "call centre" employing unwitting people to do the phone calls not knowing they are doing illegal calls.

[doug3030]

His thoughts on the matter are that the scammers know Telstra and set up a "call centre" employing unwitting people to do the phone calls not knowing they are doing illegal calls.

I am sure that this is the case, and it is not just Telstra. People in the countries where companies set up call centres know that legitimate companies like Telstra and government bodies like the ATO operate call centres in their countries. How hard would it be to recruit 1000 people to man what they all know to be a dodgy callcentre?

Wouldn't it be easier for one conman to open a Call centre that they claim is being operated by their company on behalf of Telstra or ATO? The one boss can recruit a Centre Manager, team leaders and workers who all think they are doing legitimate work. All the documents that they sign and the training they receive leads them to believe that their work is legitimate and only the one person knows it is not.

I had dealings with scammers impersonating the ATO a couple of years ago. They were chasing me for a $5000 tax bill that I had no knowledge of. I worked out that I was being targetted because the real ATO had gone through the ABN listings and deactivated all the inactive ones, including an ABN I had for a business I ran 10 years ago. The whole list of cancelled ABN's and contact details was freely available on the net.They were demanding that I pay the $5000 or face prosecution. If people had been avoiding tax by noABN looked ot be inactive they wouls probably have paid up.

I called them out as spammers several times but they would not back off because they actually believed that they were representing the ATO.

I had even called the real ATO and confirmed that I had no outstanding debt.

The calls stopped around the same time that I read that a group of scammers impersonating the ATO and the IRS in the US had been rounded up

Cheers

Doug

[smidsy]

This has been on the news, its lead generating.
They get your information and sell it to shonky lawyers who then chase you to take action - apparently it's caused a major spike in dodgy claims.

I was getting a few scam callers a while ago but after the last call we haven't had a single one in about six months. The caller told me there had been an accident or something similar and I agreed with him as he had rung the NSW police dept and we have a few accidents. He asked me to repeat who he had rung and I told him and then said all calls to this number were traced. He then asked me what he should do!! I advised him it might be a good idea to hang up before the trace was completed. Fair dinkum, some of them are as thick as two short planks. I am guessing that our number has been removed or I hope it has because the next one will get exactly the same treatment.

[smidsy]

I've done the "I've got several computers running on different ISP's and need the IP address of the bad one" line and that stuffs them up.
Or tell them you run linux, that stuffs them up - I got creative one day, allowed him to talk me through it and told him I'm running Windows 3.11.

[rustynail]

So who's going to report you?

You never know who is on the other end of the phone.

[Sawdust Maker]

Isn't it "impersonating a policeman carrying out their official duties"?

You can't get done dressing up as a copper for a fancy dress party

[Chris Parks]

This is a very funny take on scam emails

[Skew's_Girl]

I've gotten the 'Windows technician' and the 'Telstra technician'
Then I started getting "You've been in an accident recently, we may have $10 000 for you'
And 'super cheap travel tickets like free'.
The latest was 'government rebated solar panels'
There's been so many.

I'm going to try the Lenny cause that's damn near hilarious. Best example of the Turing test I've ever seen.
I tried doing 'the addled old lady' once. "Hello? is this peter?" peter turned out to be a pet cat that died and Alice was waiting for a call from peter to know whether or not to get milk even though her daughter Rachel and her second Daughter Lucy both said it couldn't happen but peter is such a nice cat... drawn out for 10-20 mins before I cracked up and couldn't go on.

I think my personal best was becoming an American TV Evangelist exorcising the viruses Telstra said were on my computer. I wish i'd taped that one.

I've given up now. It takes too much energy so Lenny'd be a good break for me while driving their profits down.

[rustynail]

Isn't it "impersonating a policeman carrying out their official duties"?

You can't get done dressing up as a copper for a fancy dress party

Crimes Act 1900 Section 546D.
" Impersonation does not include conduct engaged in SOLELY for satirical purposes."
The rest is chargeable.