The bells, the bells, they deafen me

August 30, 2012 3:38 AM

So we've discussed what to do if you're wanting to have fun with call-center scammers who claim they're from Microsoft. What to do to stop them, though?

It's a new phenomenon for me here in the north. I'm signed up to a good commercial-call-blocker service, but these guys are somehow able to fly under the radar.
They're calling at inconvenient times. They claim my Microsoft computer is a security risk. I tell them "do you really believe what you're telling me here", "I don't even want to talk to you", "don't call again" and other variants of futile instant-anger-nonsense, but no change.
So what's there to stop this, or isn't there anything?

(come to think of it, I don't even own a Microsoft computer)

posted by Namlit to computers & internet (11 answers total)

If you're in the US, you should make sure your phone number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. If it is, you can file a complaint with the FCC. Also, you can contact your attorney general's office, as they generally handle consumer issues. I know my state AG office has a handy PDF complaint form.
posted by reptile at 3:54 AM on August 30, 2012

Should have said: Sweden
posted by Namlit at 4:03 AM on August 30, 2012

You could try registering with NIX-Telefon, which is the Swedish version of a 'do not call' registry. These sorts of services are only really effective against the more legitimate end of the cold-caller spectrum.
posted by pipeski at 4:21 AM on August 30, 2012

I just received one of those fake tech support calls yesterday, and because I didn't previously know about them, I found it to be an utterly bizarre experience.

I ended up feigning ignorance for about ten minutes letting the caller repeat his script about the threat of malicious software that couldn't be detected by virus scanners ad nauseum. At that point the caller just said "you're probably not infected" and hung up. Hopefully my phone number has been added to the "more trouble than it's worth" list.

I don't think there's much you can do about preventing these calls. You might want to file a report with SANS, as they're currently conducting research into how widespread these calls are and what the callers are attempting to do.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:18 AM on August 30, 2012

I can't remember the exact conversation when I received one of those calls (been out for a boozy dinner with family tonight, sorry), but it went something like this:

Them: your PC is infected.

Me: Oh. Which one? We have three. And none of them are connected to the internet at the moment...

Them: Um...

Me: HOW FUCKING STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM, WE HAVE ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE, WE KNOW YOU ARE SCAMMERS, FUCK OFF AND DIE.


They never rang back.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 5:28 AM on August 30, 2012

(And now I've checked your link, and my sober comment is there, detailing what happened. They still haven't called me back.)
posted by malibustacey9999 at 5:31 AM on August 30, 2012

Thanks pipeski, I am registered with NIX-telefon, but I sent them a request now as well.
And yeah, malibu... I thought I'd scared them off, but no. That's why I'm here.
posted by Namlit at 5:44 AM on August 30, 2012

Just hang up instantly. Anything else is likely going to be a waste of your time and energy.

One thing I have done, back when I was more of a total bastard, was use a small gadget that emitted a constant high-pitched squeal on the line until they hung up, convincing them that something was wrong with the number. Similarly, picking up the phone, letting them start their spiel, and then repeatedly pressing the zero key until they hung up also tended to convince them something was wrong with the line.

...but, really, just hang up. It's faster.
posted by aramaic at 7:56 AM on August 30, 2012

This was a real problem for me here in Canada, too - I'm on the national do-not-call registry, and I have tried reporting the callers to my phone company and the police if you can believe it. Talking with the schmucks who do the calling up, they have no idea that what they are doing is wrong. They're idiots, which is why they are destined to work as phone scammers. No use talking to them, except...

What seems to have worked in my case was that I simply asked to get removed from their list. I said that they call me day after day after day, and I have declined - could you please remove me from your list?

The response was, "Oh, okay."

I haven't received any calls for the past couple of months.

Bizarre, but true.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:16 AM on August 30, 2012

My little trick from the last thread has helped considerably where I work, just so you know. Bonus points for being so satisfying.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 11:47 AM on August 30, 2012 [1 favorite]

You can't stop them, at least in my experience (and I'm on the Australian Do Not Call register and have been for almost 10 years).

The best thing to do is listen for the telltale pause of an auto-dialer and pre-emptively hang up.

I've done everything to them, from being polite and firm to abusing them down the phone, to keeping them online as long as possible.

Because there's no one source that's trying to scam you, once you're on a list somewhere someone will call you back again. Sometimes we can go months without calls, but they always come back, and they seem to cluster.

Whether its the same call centre using the same scam with a different front company I am not sure, but they're pretty much outside the law and the various fraud offices I have spoken to suggest they can't do much because they use local throw-away numbers for dialling and it's all too hard.

(I had one call me the other night at 9.30pm. I was not happy. That one called me back to abuse me.)
posted by Mezentian at 6:10 PM on August 30, 2012