Tech support scammer: 'If you come to India, you know what we do to Anglo people?'

[Newsjock]

Source: CBC News

The "Microsoft tech support" scam is now the biggest telephone ripoff in Canada — but as B.C. man Jakob Dulisse found, callers are using increasingly nasty tactics to steal our money.

Dulisse of Nelson, B.C., decided to take matters into his own hands two weeks ago, turning the tables on a man falsely claiming to be calling from California to offer Microsoft tech support.

... The caller became irritated, but it wasn't until Dulisse asked why the man would try to steal from unsuspecting people that the conversation took what Dulisse calls a "sinister turn."

"He started getting kind of nasty and angry. He admitted that he was in India … and then he said, 'If you come to India, you know what we do to Anglo people?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'We cut them up in little pieces and throw them in the river."

But it didn't end there. The scammer knew Dulisse's full name and Canadian address, telling him he would send someone to his home to kill him.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/microsoft-tech-support-scammer-recorded-threatening-to-kill-b-c-man-1.2980453

[TlalocW]

1. I've gotten that call before

Calling from Microsoft, claiming they can tell there's a virus on your computer, and that you need to go to a website or download a program that lets them gain control of your computer so they can get rid of it.

I missed the first call and Googled it and saw what the scam was and wrote a little note on a sticky and put it on my computer. When they called back (later that same day)...

Me: "Hi, this is TlalocW from Microsoft. Our systems indicate that you have a virus on your computer, and we're going to need you to go to a website that will allow me to have remote control so I can delete it for you."
*pause*
Me: "Hello?"
Woman on Other End: "Sorry to bother you."
*click*

I then called 3 more times (getting the same woman), getting more and more emotional that I needed control of her computer to get rid of her virus. They finally blocked me. That was about a year ago. No Indian hit men yet.

TlalocW

[RockaFowler]

2. That is a horrible story

These scammers are getting more and more brazen.

[woodsprite]

3. He talks about getting rid of his land line, but I've received those calls on my cell as well

as my land line. I only give my cell out to people I know - like daycare, the kids school, work, the bank. I did not put in my cell phone (as frequently requested) on Google or Facebook for their "security purposes", so don't know where they got it from.

I usually play with them a bit if I have the time (lay the phone down and go about my business, play dumb, etc.) The last time, they interrupted me when I was fixing dinner and in a hurry. The guy was literally squeaking at me from the other end of the phone because I told him to drop the bullshit and call some other sucker.

[tularetom]

4. Gee, and I thought I was doing good when I got one of them to tell me to go eff myself

I just used the old republican panel show method - talked over him constantly, interrupted him every time he opened his mouth, asked him inane questions about the weather, his family, his car, his co-workers until he finally said "You know what? Go fuck yourself", after I told him I didn't own a "Microsoft computer".

I laughed for an hour afterwards, butI guess I have to try harder if this guy can get them to threaten to kill him.

[Initech]

5. Fuck these scammers.

First off if I don't know who the number is, I don't answer the phone. Period. Second I would tell these assholes "Hey I build my own systems, I use multiple antivirus software programs and have hardware firewall protection. Who do you think you are to tell me that my computer has a virus on it?" And slam down the phone.

[valerief]

6. I don't understand why people take calls from people they don't know. nt

[2naSalit]

7. Sometimes...

people call unexpectedly from phones not their own because they need your help; some of my relatives call me from hospital phones that I am not familiar with; sometimes I have to have background checks and those people call me for info but I don't know what their numbers are; or my bosses/coworkers calling from work for which the number is "unavailable"... same with the "interviewer" from the food stamp office and if you miss the call you could be waiting yet another six weeks and may have to refile your claim. There are lots of reasons to answer a call from a number you don't recognize.

When I get scammers, pretty rarely thankfully, I usually have a few choice words to either piss them off or totally befuddle them while writing down their number so I will know it if there's a next time. Some cell phones block selected numbers so you can always hang up and then block that number on your phone. I don't have one of those phones but I don't have a problem with scam callers.

[wcmagumba]

8. Free call blocker helps...

Get a free call/number/area code blocker like "Mr. Number" for android phones....easy to use, free and seems to work fine.