You should Google unknown phone numbers before calling them, because there are a lot of shady people out there. This isn't guaranteed protection, but a lot of times if they're a habitual scammer, their number will show up on Mr. Number, Dirtyphonebook, 800notes, or other similar sites with some info about them.
You'll be amazed at how spammers operate and how often they succeed. I tried to warn my father about answering unknown numbers, but he was one of the ones stupid enough to fall for the "Microsoft called me to fix my computer" scam. (the only reason it didn't work is that he couldn't figure out their instructions to give them his credit card, but he was trying to) :(
My aunt did this, too. Not a stupid person, either. A doctor.
She believed that the indian on the phone was from Microsoft and somehow detected that her computer (and every other computer in the house, including the 27" iMac I bought my mom for mother's day) were infected. They pinched her for $250 bucks per machine ($750 total). Gave them her credit card number. Let them install shit on the machines. Everything.
Even after I called her and explained to her what just happened, she took a ton of persuading to cancel her credit card (I don't even know if she ever did that), because she was STILL worried that despite what I (a software engineer of two decades) told her, it "might still be legitimate".
Also, who calls back numbers they don't recognize? If you're a number I don't recognize and you don't leave a voicemail, then fuck you!
this is a much bigger and more widespread scam that is happening. where I live, there are at least 2 call centers dedicated to doing this all day every day. I know this because I went in for a job as a network teck (For their own internal systems) and saw what was going on.
I dragged one along for 15 minutes trying to "follow" his instructions, before confessing it was an Ubuntu laptop. He told me "go f* yourself, and your mother is a whore!" and hung up on me. Made me giggle :)
Or just don't call them back in the first place. The onus should never be on you.
As a rule, I just don't pick up my phone anymore (it's always in Do Not Disturb mode, the best thing Apple ever implemented).
People I work with know that email is the fastest and best way to get ahold of me. If I really need to have a live talk with someone, we can schedule a time to meet for coffee or talk over Skype.
If it's really important (i.e. taxes or something), I figure they'll leave a voicemail (I still listen to those) or that it'll get to me by the mail in some form.
The phone is a completely obsolete communication medium. It's the technological equivalent of jumping behind someone and screaming "Hey I need your attention now, drop everything that you are doing and talk to me". 30 years ago, when only your close friends and family called, the compromise was worth it. In 2014, when most calls are telemarketing BS, it's just outdated.
There are a bunch of websites that contain every single phone number possible and a lot of ads.
Web searching phone numbers is not a fun experience.
Any search engine people reading: you might want to investigate this because I can't understand how some of these sites legitimately rise in the rankings.
Comments
You should Google unknown phone numbers before calling them, because there are a lot of shady people out there. This isn't guaranteed protection, but a lot of times if they're a habitual scammer, their number will show up on Mr. Number, Dirtyphonebook, 800notes, or other similar sites with some info about them.
You'll be amazed at how spammers operate and how often they succeed. I tried to warn my father about answering unknown numbers, but he was one of the ones stupid enough to fall for the "Microsoft called me to fix my computer" scam. (the only reason it didn't work is that he couldn't figure out their instructions to give them his credit card, but he was trying to) :(
My aunt did this, too. Not a stupid person, either. A doctor.
She believed that the indian on the phone was from Microsoft and somehow detected that her computer (and every other computer in the house, including the 27" iMac I bought my mom for mother's day) were infected. They pinched her for $250 bucks per machine ($750 total). Gave them her credit card number. Let them install shit on the machines. Everything.
Even after I called her and explained to her what just happened, she took a ton of persuading to cancel her credit card (I don't even know if she ever did that), because she was STILL worried that despite what I (a software engineer of two decades) told her, it "might still be legitimate".
Also, who calls back numbers they don't recognize? If you're a number I don't recognize and you don't leave a voicemail, then fuck you!
this is a much bigger and more widespread scam that is happening. where I live, there are at least 2 call centers dedicated to doing this all day every day. I know this because I went in for a job as a network teck (For their own internal systems) and saw what was going on.
I've gotten two of these calls. I tell them I don't have any Windows computers, only Macs. They stutter for a minute and then hang up on me.
I dragged one along for 15 minutes trying to "follow" his instructions, before confessing it was an Ubuntu laptop. He told me "go f* yourself, and your mother is a whore!" and hung up on me. Made me giggle :)
There are many stupid doctors.
What do you call the person who graduated at the bottom of their class in med school?
"Doctor."
Or just don't call them back in the first place. The onus should never be on you.
As a rule, I just don't pick up my phone anymore (it's always in Do Not Disturb mode, the best thing Apple ever implemented).
People I work with know that email is the fastest and best way to get ahold of me. If I really need to have a live talk with someone, we can schedule a time to meet for coffee or talk over Skype. If it's really important (i.e. taxes or something), I figure they'll leave a voicemail (I still listen to those) or that it'll get to me by the mail in some form.
The phone is a completely obsolete communication medium. It's the technological equivalent of jumping behind someone and screaming "Hey I need your attention now, drop everything that you are doing and talk to me". 30 years ago, when only your close friends and family called, the compromise was worth it. In 2014, when most calls are telemarketing BS, it's just outdated.
There are a bunch of websites that contain every single phone number possible and a lot of ads.
Web searching phone numbers is not a fun experience.
Any search engine people reading: you might want to investigate this because I can't understand how some of these sites legitimately rise in the rankings.