Scammers Calling From "Windows Operating Systems"

[typingservice]

This lady just called claiming to be from Windows Operating Systems (Security and Technical). She said they were concerned about my computer. Being the skeptic that I am, I just gave her a hard time until she finally gave up. 🙂 There is no way I would give out ANY private information to random callers or let them remotely connect with my computer. After hanging up with her I Googled it and found out that this is a popular scam right now. They want to steal financial information. Be careful!

[regency85]

WOW! I’ve NEVER heard of that one. 😮



"I’m calling from Windows Operating Systems" - yeah right lady! MicroSTUPID hasn’t got an effing clue who’s using their software, and has NO WAY of tracing a single user through the myriad of ISP’s out there!



Give me a break… L-)

[typingservice]

Reply to @regency85: It’s ludicrous. I had a call awhile back from a guy that said he was in the FBI. He claimed he wanted to deposit money into my account and asked for my banking info. I said “You’re in the FBI, you tell me!” I can’t believe these people. Everyone should be on guard and avoid giving out personal information to callers. These types of tactics must work for some or they wouldn’t keep doing it.

[steveeyes]

I gotten a call from a guy and gal at least a dozen times. I knew it was a scam (it was on the news). I usually play with them a bit.



CALLER: "there is a problem with your windows computer"



ME: "What, which window, the one in the living room or bedroom? I have been meaning to get that fixed"



CALLER: No your computer



ME "I won a computer – WOW"



CALLER: hangup

[typingservice]

Reply to @steveeyes: lol. That’s so funny! 🙂 I’ll try that next time.

[regency85]

Reply to @steveeyes: Great comeback lines!

=D> =D>

[voiceoverwork]

When I’m in the studio and they call, I do one where while they’re talking, I play the sound of a big dog barking from far away and I keep asking them to repeat. After 3 or 4 that, I turn up the volume so the dog barking sounds closer, then I scream “Effing damn!” and say, “My wife’s effing dog just bit me in the effing balls! One of these days I’m gonna kill that effing mutt!” I apologize and let them get back on point and slowly turn the dog barking back up. Then I scream, “Ooooooh” and a second later, I trigger the sound of hand gun going off. Then I calmly say, “Sorry about that. Please continue.” It can get kind of bizarre from then on. Same stuff I used to do in my old radio days!

[nickih]

Reply to @voiceoverwork: Wow! So funny! I imagine they’d never want to call your number again.

[regency85]

Reply to @voiceoverwork: VOW… you are a sick puppy.

[harf!, harf!]

[Guest celticmoon]

Is anyone here old enough to remember the Nigerian 4-1-9 scams? Although the original concept is almost 100 years old, in the 1990’s it evolved into very popular email scams.



Has anybody gotten their computer hijacked? Where your screen suddenly looks like an official FBI page, with a message saying ‘this computer has been linked to international crimes, and unless you send money to some address’ they won’t release your computer. And then you’re stuck. You can’t back out, you can’t leave the page. If you shut the machine off, it opens to that page when you turn it back on again. Over and over and over. And what I found especially creepy: it turned my webcam on & I couldn’t shut it off. I guess so I could see my mouth go “OH!!” as I realized what was happening. THAT was a pain in the a$$. (Don’t know if there’s an easier way, but I went into the BIOS and backdated one day. That got rid of it).

[typingservice]

I’m surprised with all the comments. Apparently, these calls are pretty common.



@voiceoverwork That’s awesome! 🙂 Literally, lol - so funny…



@kjblynx They probably decided to look for an easier target that doesn’t know about computers.



@bachas85 I’m glad you didn’t waste too much time with them.



The next time they call I’m going to tell them, “I’m so happy you called!!” “What I really need is for you to take remote access over my computer!” “I’m going to cooperate fully, and answer any question you have!”



"But, first - I just need you to hold for one minute…"



Then I’ll just leave the phone and go run errands or something. 🙂



J/K



@celticmoon - Fortunately, I haven’t had my computer hijacked! That’s crazy!! Clever idea to backdate it by one day.

[Guest celticmoon]

I guess it shows how many scammers there are out there. You figure if they only manage to snag one “mark” out of 200 calls/attempts, that’s still a better success rate than NONE!



I’m old enough to have had a home phone before caller ID, which means I got crank calls. Once when I was home alone, I got an obscene call. I guess I was in a kooky mood or something, but I started dishing it back at the caller, saying all kinds of awful things about his…anatomy, and…um…prowess or lack thereof…and stuff like that. He kept getting more and more frustrated that I wasn’t freaking out or hanging up on him, until finally he yelled, You’re disgusting!! and hung up ON ME! Oh, I laughed about that for hours…I out-obscened the obscene caller!

Maybe it’s because I’m a nurse, and very little fazes me~ =))

[regency85]

Reply to @celticmoon:



> I out-obscened the obscene caller!

=D>

[Guest celticmoon]

Reply to @regency85: One of my many talents: grossing out obscene-phone-callers.



Too bad I can’t figure out a way to monetize that skill with a gig~

😉

[typingservice]

Reply to @celticmoon: "…I out-obscened the obscene caller!.."



Next time “Windows” calls about my computer, I’m going to ask them what they’re wearing. 🙂

[cristinaghy]

There are a couple of really funny videos of people having a lot of fun with those calls. Just give them a search on YouTube. I never got one (I think they mostly target people in the USA but I might be wrong), but if someone would call me to ask for access to my computer I would have SO MUCH fun with it (if I had time). So much trolling potential there…

But nobody calls to scammmmm me… sniff sniff.

[Guest celticmoon]

Reply to @typingservice: ~lol~ And you’ll be starting down the road to out-obscening obscene phone callers with me!! We can collaborate on a “How-to” book…

[Guest celticmoon]

No, it doesn’t happen so much these days, probably because so many phones have caller ID. If you want, I’ll post your number in the bathroom of a low-class bar/tavern! That will probably get you a bunch of unwanted calls! ~lol~ Of course, they may not be scammers :-/