Last Updated on February 18, 2023
I get a lot of scam support phone calls, I usually just hang up and block the number using my call blocker. But sometimes the call is so audacious that I record the call and bung the video up on YouTube. This caller claimed to be calling me from the ‘world wide server’ with crucial information about what is wrong with my computer. This was too good to be true, so I fired up my camera.
I’m never mean to scam callers. There’s a chance they might not even know what they’re doing is a crime. I’m being charitable here, but I’ve read articles claiming that the lower level callers like this are just one of hundreds of people working in a high pressure call centre environment. I see no reason to swear at scam callers, but that’s not to say they don’t often swear at me.
In the scam call from the World Wide Server support team I played along for a bit. But when the scam caller wanted me to load an executable file on my computer I decided not to risk it. From this point I stopped playing dumb and started letting the caller know that I did not wish to proceed. I even listed the technical reasons why his call couldn’t possibly be genuine. This is when it got weird.
When I start spouting technical details regarding using a VPN for security, or running a NetStat command to record the IPs of scammers who attempt access to my network, that’s usually when scam callers hang up. This caller wasn’t put off by little things like that. In fact he wasn’t put off by me asking him outright if he was a scammer and had employers for whom he was breaking the law.
In the end I offered to put the phone in front of my radio so he could listen to some music. My logic being that he could pretend to still be speaking to me, but could listen to some music and have a break for a few moments. He still persisted. This was one determined caller!
Watch the video and you’ll hear how badly the caller was trying to fill the holes I was picking in his shaky scammers’ argument.
Scam support calls – remember this
- Nobody will ever call you offering you free support for a problem you have not reported
- NEVER allow anyone access to your computer, no matter where they say they are calling from
- Don’t be freaked out that they appear to have some of your personal details, they would need nothing more than a telephone directory to find this information
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