Reply With QuoteAh, after a bit of searching, it appears that I am not alone. It appears to be a telephone version of those pop-up windows that tell you that you've got an infection.
Best wishes,
Bob
A cold call at home, not at work.
----- cut here -----
Telephone rings.
Me: Hello.
Them: This is <garbled> from the Windows XP support team. <I didn't get the accent. Sub-continent, I would have thought.>
Me: Yes? <I've installed Windows XP as a guest OS using Sun's Virtual Box, so I thought, well, maybe.>
Them: Are you on line now?
Me: Yes.
Them: We just got a report that you are infected by a malicious Windows XP virus. We can help you get rid of it. Go to the Start button.
Me: Ah. Well, you see, I'm not now running XP, or any version of Windows. <I've not used XP in the Virtual Box since I installed it. But, I took this claim that I was infected by a malicious Windows XP virus as a hint.>
Them: What are you running?
Me: Linux.
Them: Linux?
Me: Yes.
Them: Wait. <Sound of discussion in background. I didn't recognize the language.>
Them: Hello.
Me: Hello.
Them: I'm going to have you talk to my supervisor.
Me: Okay.
Them: Hello, you were talking to someone on the XP support team, but since I am a supervisor, I know all about linux.
Me: Thank goodness.
Them: Are you using Redhat? Me: No. Them: Ubuntu? Me: No. Debian. Them: Debian? Okay.
Them: You have infection.
Me: What kind?
Them: If you go to your system folder, I can help you get rid of it?
Me: For whom are you calling? What company?
Them: <something> systems, system infection team.
Me: Okay. But, a system folder? I'm not quite sure what you mean by system folder.
Them: /system <missed the rest>
Me: I don't have a "/system" directory. I have a /sys directory, which represents parts of the kernel memory. And, I have an /etc directory, which contains configuration and start up files.
Them: /etc. We will help you get rid of your infection.
Me: What infection? I have a pretty good firewall with extensive logging, and, even better, I have an off computer file with a hash of all the system files on my computer, which tells me if anything has been altered. I've seen no evidence of any compromise, or any infection. Can you tell me more about the infection? What it is, and the method of infection?
Them: If you follow my instructions, you will be able to get rid of the infection.
Me: Tell me more about the infection, please.
Them: I'm a knowledgeable computer person with linux, you need to follow my instructions.
Me: I think that you are making all this up. So, I'm done talking with you. Good bye. <I hang up.>
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There is some serious social engineering going on here. There is clearly a call centre trying to get something done on folks' computers. I don't know what they were trying to get me to do. I probably should have played along more, pretending that I had an XP machine up and running, in order to find out.
Best wishes,
Bob
Ah, after a bit of searching, it appears that I am not alone. It appears to be a telephone version of those pop-up windows that tell you that you've got an infection.
Best wishes,
Bob
:shock:
not good , wonder what they were trying to achieve here??
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Hmmm strange. Wonder how they got your number. Did they have your name
I have heard of a scam where someone rings some unsuspecting punter and tells them they have a virus. Then they get them to look at the windows event log which even if everything is fine is bound to contain a number of minor errors. They then tell the punter that those errors are caused by the virus in order to prove that they are infected, at which point they sell the punter a piece of software to download to fix the virus and take a credit card payment for the download.
Yes, they probably wanted to scare you into buying something, which then may or may not have arrived and your credit card details may or may not have been sold.
Have you signed up for the Telephone Preference Service? I did and the number of calls went down to almost zero.
I still get the odd one or two though, and when I work out it's a nuisance call I ask them to hold the line and then put them on speaker phone while I put the phone down and keep quiet. Every few minutes I tell them how interested I am, but there is someone at the door and will they keep on holding. About 20 minutes is my record so far before they hung up. Either that or I give the phone to my two year old, that gets rid of them quite quickly.
"I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul's good to do each day two things they disliked ... it is a precept that I have followed scrupulously; for every day I have got up and I have gone to bed."
I answer to Mr <my wife's last name> and she, on those occasions when she doesn't mind acknowledging my existence, answers to Mrs/Ms <my last name>. They used her last name. I expect they got it from the place that most cold callers get names and telephone numbers: the phone book.Originally Posted by Cookie
Best wishes,
Bob
I keep meaning to look into this, but just haven't had the time recently. Thanks for the reminder.
Best wishes,
Bob
Is this for real?
I'm happy to pull a few legs with imaginary dialogue. However, I hope that I would be more creative, and produce something more interesting. So, yes, it is real. :)
Best wishes,
Bob
cold callers is one reason i ended up removing my landline. that, and kingston comms (the only choice here in the third world) are a bunch of thieving incompetent muppets. :evil:
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
I had the same kind of call last year a couple of times, it's a scam all the way.
Dave E
Skating away on the thin ice of a new day
It's an excellent service, but doesn't do much to stop calls from abroad, which most of ours are. I've just stopped answering the land line as we've never given the number to anyone; may as well unplug the phone, actually. If it wasn't for it being required as part of the cable package, I wouldn't bother with a land line at all.
I love these kind of calls. I receive a few because my mobile is supplied by my employer, but I give out the number as my usual contact number. This gives rise to all sorts of opportunities - I get calls offering me a cheaper deal on my mobile (cheaper than nothing?) and there are other opportunities to string these idiots along and frustrate them.
As they work from scripts, as soon as you go "off-piste" they can't cope. Leaving them on hold, as already recommended, is also a good one, as most of them have to deal with calls within a certain timescale.
And if you've had a really bad day, you can of course vent all of your frustrations on them. It's a very worthwhile service that they offer.
At the other end of the scale, you can just start chatting with them, which also wastes their time. They can't wait to get rid of you.
I've got a Mac, by the way.
I don't get out much.
Regards
Ian
With apologies to anybody who has the misfortune to work in a call centre.
Although no trees were harmed during the creation of this post, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
Personally I won't take any call (at home) from any person I don't know regardless of whether they're legitimate. I often find that a loud "no" followed by hanging up renders any chancer getting anything from me. :D
Yes, that's another one, chatting to them. I find they are quite reluctant to hang up for some reason, not sure why, even when they know when I am wasting their time.
Me too.I've got a Mac, by the way.
DittoI don't get out much.
"I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul's good to do each day two things they disliked ... it is a precept that I have followed scrupulously; for every day I have got up and I have gone to bed."
I once spent an hour talking to a muppet from a USA stockbroker "boiler room" - i was bored so thought i'd waste his time. He told me all about his helicopter and Ferraris and how i could have these too if i sent him money :lol:
Strange days :shock:
I signed us up with the TPS years ago and it seemed to initially make a difference but towards the end of last year we were getting up to three or four calls a day from overseas call centres. I played it as a game to start with and would offer to put them on hold whilst I located people or information, then keep going back to check that they were still waiting. The longest I managed to keep one on the line was nearly 30 minutes!! In the end I decided to get a Truecall box that effectively reduced the number of cold calls to zero immediately. An excellent piece of kit that I wish I'd known about sooner.
i love the calls from mobile phone dealers telling me they can beat my current deal, i always string them along as my current deal is a free smart phone,free calls,sms,web,blackberry,video calls etc with no monthly line rental as i work for a mobile phone company.
i let them know what i have and they basically call me a liar, i then tell them i'm on a free staff plan and they usually put the phone down.
i hate it when i have a day of during the week and i'm in the house as the amount of outbound diallers calling the number is amazing.
Thanks for the heads up Bob, I've not heard of that paticular one before. The TPS is to regulation UK companies and unfortunately they don't have jurusdiction over foreign call centres. I like the idea of saying someones at the door and keep coming back to them every few minutes.
telephone preference service all the way.
About 13 years ago when my eldest was still a baby I was off work at home with a broken leg and a snapped achilles tendon.
I could barely just about hobble around but it was painful.
Anyway I was halfway through changing her shitty nappy when the phone went just as there was a knock at the door,
talk about distracted
Hobbled painfully to the phone while shouting at the door to hang onand answered the call:
"Morning sir, just a courtesy call, we are in the area and looking for demonstration homes for our double glazing "or somesuch
I m Afraid I let forth such a stream of expletives.
Since then we signed up for the preference service, havent had more than 2 calls in 13 years
If one does get through the net just ask to speak to their supervisor explaining that you are on the preference service and they slam the phone down immediately.
its a big fine apparently if they break the terms.
Another vote for TPS - at least it gets a few of them. Other than that for the offshore ones I just keep them talking and waste their money. If I can keep them on for 15 mins I tell them what i'm doing. They don't call back!!! :twisted:
Bob - I'm amazed you stayed on the line so long, unless you wanted to have a laugh and wind them up!
Personally we don't get to many here as we signed up with TPS a few years back, but if we do I usually hang up or just put the phone down which hopefully locks up their line and runs up their bill (don't know if that works with international calls though?)
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