I'm from Windows and I'm calling to fix your computer

We only used to get the odd one now and again but I've had the call too many times recently for my liking, always late into the evening. Blocking the bogus caller IDs is a quick fix only until new numbers are generated and 'called from'.

Does anyone else suffer calls from these motherfunners?

Used to.

Start off by asking:-

1) What's my name?

If you get bored, move on to stuff like:-

2) How do you sleep at night?

3) Do your kids know this is how you make your money?

We only used to get the odd one now and again but I've had the call too many times recently for my liking, always late into the evening. Blocking the bogus caller IDs is a quick fix only until new numbers are generated and 'called from'.

Does anyone else suffer calls from these motherfunners?

I used to. They stopped after a few successful attempts to keep the calls going for longer than half an hour each time....

Ask them if they believe in Christ and have they received the Keys of the Kingdom. They soon ring off.

I just tell them immediately, 'I believe that someone in your office has had an accident in the last three years' - it tends to confuse matters.

If that fails I tell them that I am doing a survey and start asking them questions about green energy.

I can't compete with Lord T, my record for keeping them online for a very confused conversation is ten minutes.

When you are busy they are effing annoying but when you have the time they can be very entertaining - all the time they are on the wrong end of your pointless chat they aren't bothering other people.

I used to say I was very interested and ask them to wait a minute, then put the phone on the table and go and do something else. They always seemed to have gone when I came back later, how rude.

We don't bother with a landline any more though, it became so that the only people who called us on that one were unwanted callers and everyone we were interested in speaking to used the mobiles.

I used to say I was very interested and ask them to wait a minute, then put the phone on the table and go and do something else.

This, or start chatting them up and asking them if they like man love

We used to get Jehova Witnesses around our way, when they knocked my door I was all to happy to invite them in for a chat. Used to offer them a tea......then start asking questions they couldn't answer.

They only knocked the once!

We used to get Jehova Witnesses around our way, when they knocked my door I was all to happy to invite them in for a chat. Used to offer them a tea......then start asking questions they couldn't answer.

 

They only knocked the once!

Put a blood donor sticker in the window. It works like garlic on vampires and scares them away.

Not had any myself from "microsoft", but I used to work dealing with disputed transactions on credit cards. You'd be astounded how many people are happy to hand over their card number to a random stranger calling to say their computer needs fixed.

I don't get too many sales calls with TPS and a phone that blocks international and witheld numbers but the few I do get are usually called Brian or David from Birmingham and have a suspiciously non-British accent. I usually ask them as many questions as I can, how's the weather, what's their surname, where do they buy their car insurance, can they deliver BBQ chicken pizza...

BBQ chicken pizza...

People actually eat that?

Don't get so many these days but when I do I say that my son is a director of Microsoft and ask them which department they are in ?

The call is always very short !

Same goes for banks, Sky etc.. in fact my son now has a very impressive CV

yep we get them 2-3 times a week and don't own a single microsoft computer

Get a BT 8500 phone it screens all calls. It gives a message to the caller to identify themselves and press hash. It then rings through giving you the message you then have four options, press 1 receive that number once, 2 stores the number to allow straight through next time, 3 blocks that number for ever, 4 diverts it to the answerphone. Do nothing it goes to answerphone whilst the red button disconnects the caller. All numbers on your contacts list are let straight through. Any unrecognised and unapproved number is automatically screened. £55 from Amazon for two phones.

I tell them I need to pass the phone to the person in charge of the house, then give the handset to my three year old.

Here in France there is a Free Customer Support service called Pacitel which works to maintain the quality of customer services by telephone. By signing up it will block any number which harasses one more than 3 times per day and knows how to deal with such people.

PACITEL.FR is part of a Group called TRUSTPILOT and it appears they do the same thing in the UK. After years of being pestered without a decent blocking service I am delighted with their service.

It just requires one to sign up and giving them your phone number and the numbers you wish to block. It costs nothing and there is no contact from them unless you require further help.

https://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/pacitel.fr

Not had any myself from "microsoft", but I used to work dealing with disputed transactions on credit cards. You'd be astounded how many people are happy to hand over their card number to a random stranger calling to say their computer needs fixed.

 

I don't get too many sales calls with TPS and a phone that blocks international and witheld numbers but the few I do get are usually called Brian or David from Birmingham and have a suspiciously non-British accent. I usually ask them as many questions as I can, how's the weather, what's their surname, where do they buy their car insurance, can they deliver BBQ chicken pizza...

I'm on TPS, and apparently there is a way round it by asking a survey first.

buctootim - yes Sainsburys do a BBQ chicken pizza, I tried it by mistake - the wife bought it and I didn't know the sauce was BBQ flavour. Never again!

Thanks for the info Derry, I'll investigate the phones, they sound ideal.

Had one these 'Microsoft' calls a couple of days ago - put him on speakerphone and had the kids in hysterics as I asked all kind of stupid questions until he eventually hung up after 13 minutes.

I'm on TPS, and apparently there is a way round it by asking a survey first.

buctootim - yes Sainsburys do a BBQ chicken pizza, I tried it by mistake - the wife bought it and I didn't know the sauce was BBQ flavour. Never again!

Thanks for the info Derry, I'll investigate the phones, they sound ideal.

Yeah, we still got loads with just TPS, the phones we have are those that Derry mentioned...worth every penny and more.

People actually eat that?

That's how you catch them out

I always ask when they are going to fix my roof and if they don't do it by the end of the month then they will be hearing from my solicitor. Pfi tossers are the worst offenders

Touch wood I've hardly had one since moving in about 18 months ago, although there was a suspicious one today which had a delay and sounded like an automated recording or call centre, which I cut off after a second. I give out my number as little as possible, and when I tried to declare online that I didn't have a TV I gave up as they wanted name, number and/or email. S*d that, I wouldn't trust Capita an inch.

This foolish man played them a little too far. (Interesting to see how vindictive these ****s can be)

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-04/11/malwarebytes

I never answer the home phone any more. I just check messages.

I never answer the home phone any more. I just check messages.

This - except I don't bother with checking the messages.

This foolish man played them a little too far. (Interesting to see how vindictive these ****s can be)

 

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-04/11/malwarebytes

Don't think he was foolish - he's a security technician and that was a virtual PC, he probably didn't lose anything.

Try something like this...

Try something like this...

 

That is brilliant! Made my day.

My mum gets 4 or 5 of these a day. She's now got a phone with caller ID so at least she doesn't need to talk to them anymore. It's just bloody annoying.

It's a very common scam and the perpetrators are well known. They originate from New Delhi. If you look at the replies on here and scan down to 17th March 2013 you will find some names and addresses:

http://www.fastlanepc.com/news/alert-computer-scammers-by-phone/

I actually find the Microsoft ones quite therapeutic depending on my mood when they call.

We had the Sky scam where my viewing card was about to expire, I almost got caught as we were just about to head off to the airport for a week away and Saints were on Sky the day we returned so my mind was distracted and the guy on the other end of the phone was very slick, then he put a question in my head and I woke up.

Then my Wife had a nasty one where the bloke alledged to be from BT informing us that someone had hacked into our broadband account and our service would be turned off in the next hour. She gave all the Microsoft game responses and hung up and this parasite called back another 2 times getting more irate each time.

We only used to get the odd one now and again but I've had the call too many times recently for my liking, always late into the evening. Blocking the bogus caller IDs is a quick fix only until new numbers are generated and 'called from'.

Does anyone else suffer calls from these motherfunners?

Just tell them you have a Mac..........then the calls will stop........try to get the calling number and report to the cops........this happened to a friend !!!