Has anyone else been getting calls from some Asian folks claiming that "Microsoft has been getting 'error' messages from your computer"?
My wife says she will unplug the phone if they don't stop calling. They are relentless.
Seems to me that MS would email us directly if there were a problem.
Yes, it's a definite scam. Get caller I.D.
I agree with Chuck - get caller ID.
If you don't have caller ID, just tell them that this must be a mistake & that you don't have a computer. It stops them cold.
Keith
I get some Chinese or some other Asian speaking person calling once in a while, and I can't understand any of it, but then I will try to talk to them using made-up Asian and Kung-Po and other menu items thrown in for fun. See how long I can get them to go on.
WIth the advent of these "call anywhere" plans, seems they can carpet bomb everyone in US trying to market to the few Asians here and not lose money.
Caller ID is spoofed so much anymore it is meaningless.
I unplugged my home phone. It rings endlessly with fraud calls like that. I've never given the number to anyone, so there won't be anyone calling it that I need to talk with. I only plug it in to call out.
My wifes and my cell phones are two numbers apart. We can tell when the robodialer is at work. Mine rings first. Hers is about 10 seconds later.
My computer problem caller hit me 3 mornings in a row at 4AM.
The first two times I told him it was 4 AM and also where he could stick his 'puter service.
The third day I explained that I am an old man and don't have a computer because I don't want anyone to call me at 4AM. No more calls.
I save myself the aggravation by just not answering the land line. I have a machine to take the calls. It says, "If you telemarketers had half a brain, you'd have figured out after getting this message the first forty or fifty times that I'm not going to answer. On the other hand, if you're a legitimate caller leave your name and number so I can get back to you." Most of them hang up when they hear a recording. If it's a machine calling it may answer my recording with its own recording. If it does happen to be a legitimate caller, I can pick up and talk.
Yes, I am on the Do not call list. That means nothing to some of them. With the proliferation of scammers and telemarketers in recent years, letting a machine take the call is the way to go.
We let our calls go to voice mail. Most will not leave a message. If they do, we evaluate the call and respond appropriately.
We are on the MO. no call list. We have gotten a few calls over the last few years that were not "legal". All I did was mention the "no call list" and "how did you get this number"?, and their answer was "CLICK". We also have caller I.D., it works very well. Dave
Like Steve I have the good old fashioned phone answering machine. My friends and relatives know to leave a message. I get very few unwanted messages and they never get a reply. My cell has no special features I can only call out or receive phones calls so I never have any unwanted calls or messages.
Someone got my cell number and was doing the dial around thing so my phone would not ring and they would just leave a message with some worthless stock tip trying to get me to subscribe to their service, so I fixed them I un-set my voice mailbox and If I don't recognize the phone number I silence the ring since I am semi-retired (mostly tired) I really have no use for a phone.
Answering those calls at all puts you in the same position you have in a court of law, "anything you say can (and will) be used against you!"
A few years ago, I tried calling back some of those numbers captured by my caller ID.
The answer was always the same, the number was not in service.
A friend that worked for a security agency told me that the roto-dial computer programs require you to set in the phone number you will be calling from with the system. It can be and often is spoofed.
Some of the newer roto-dial programs evidently have the capability to automatically update that number.
When a message is received that the dialed number is not in service, that dialed number is then used by the computer as the new source number for the roto-dialer program.
Add your number to the "do not call registry" its free and quick. After that its illegal to call you. If they do, again its quick and easy to report them (via touch tone phone) and it will usually stop then, or at least drop dramatically.
You don't need to talk to anyone, or even be using that number to register or report them.
Can't recall the website now, but sure it was Do Not Call... just google it.
Hope this helps somewhat
Justin
I think I'll respond next time by saying in my best recorded-message voice: "Hello. Do not hang up. This is the FBI, Telephone Fraud Division. Your call has been traced and our officers are enroute. Do not delete anything on any of your computers. When you hear a knock at your door, put your hands over your head and walk out backwards, slowly. Follow all officers' instructions and you will not be shot. This is a recording."