Found a way to get the "Microsoft Service Center" Indians guys
To get off the phone fast.
I have a lot of people that call me who either have blocked their numbers or whose numbers I don't have in my system, so I have to answer even if it's an unrecognized number. So I get to talk to the Indian guys who claim that they are calling from the "Microsoft Service Center" to help me for free.
I've told them not to call, put in complaints with the Do Not Call List, cussed at them and hung up on them. Nothing worked - once a "supervisor" called back to try to convince me that my (non-existent) problem with my computer was serious enough to allow him to access my computer.
A month or so ago I was sort of loopy on pain drugs and when they called I cracked up and laughed at the guy. He got pissed and hung up. Just now, another of them called, same thing. That's the quickest results I've gotten from anything having to do with them.
LAUGH at them. They seem to have no sense of humor and can't take it!
discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,482 posts)...injecting a brief, "You're new at this aren't you?" before you start laughing, adds a bit more fun.
csziggy
(34,137 posts)And when I paused for breath and the guys said something, I made a comment to the effect, "You people are hilarious!" That when the one today hung up.
TheMadMonk
(6,187 posts)csziggy
(34,137 posts)And I don't want the only words of Punjab I know to be swear words.
Laughing is better for me than cursing - and it seems to upset the fake MS guys more. Better karma all around!
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)Instant "click" and they don't call back.
csziggy
(34,137 posts)discntnt_irny_srcsm
(18,482 posts)I guessing you enjoyed that part of the movie where Indiana Jones shoots the swordsman.
WhoIsNumberNone
(7,875 posts)Sometimes I curse at them a bit first. Fuck being polite. If the problem persists, buy a whistle.
Earth Bound Misfit
(3,554 posts)I like the whistle idea. Maybe even one of those canned air horns.
jrandom421
(1,005 posts)I ask them what product group they work for, who their manager was, and their employee badge number, then note that I can't seem to find them in the global (company) address list. Seems to work every time.
Response to csziggy (Original post)
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RILib
(862 posts)I had no success with phone scammers when I asked nicely for no more calls. I had no success yelling. I had no success pretending to be senile and asking them to wait (forever) while I got my credit card.
Now I push the buttons that say I want to talk to someone and then I cover the phone microphone and just listen to them saying their thing ending with hello? hello? This is less work than my senile impersonation.
This has reduced my anger level considerably, since I'm wasting as much of their time as they're wasting of mine.
(I get 1-2 calls a day from our friends Heather or Rachel at card services, or the FBI trying to sell me a free security system, or calls targeted at Seniors. I actually got ticked off enough to phone the FCC and the lady told me that since these originate overseas, there is little they can do. DoNotCall list complaints are a no-op for these callers. I'm sure the government has the resources in the CIA to track these people; if I were Obama they'd wind up in Guantanamo.)
csziggy
(34,137 posts)They did not seem to care for being laughed at and told their scam was ridiculous. I think it offended them more than when I called them thieves.
Whatever works to keep them from calling is fine with me.
Oh - you know they did catch up with Rachel at card services?
Five companies behind the 'Rachel from Cardholder Services' scheme and other credit card robocalls were shut down Thursday, the FTC announced. The FTC estimated that the companies had defrauded customers out of more than $30 million by promising to lower credit card interest rates in exchange for an up-front fee.
By Jeff Ward-Bailey, Contributor / November 2, 2012
The FTC is putting a dent in those automated call. The agency announced on Thursday that it has shut down five robocall companies that participated in the "Rachel" scheme. The companies had defrauded more than 30,000 customers for a haul of more than $30 million by promising nonexistent services, the FTC said at a Chicago press conference.
The five companies are all facing complaints in US District court, where they're accused of making deceptive sales claims and violating robocalling laws. (In some cases, robocalling is okay -- such as for political campaigns and charity drives -- but credit offers aren't allowed.) The law also prohibits telemarketers from charging people money up front in exchange for a promise to reduce debt.
"At the FTC, Rachel from Cardholder Services is public enemy number one, said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz in the FTC's press release.
The agency also noted that it's been getting more than 200,000 complaints each month about automated telemarketing calls, including those from "Rachel." Some telemarketers at the companies in question, it added, even promised consumers they could pay off their credit card balances two to three times faster by lowering their interest rates.
More: http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2012/1102/FTC-cuts-off-Rachel-from-Cardholder-Services
but I have the horrid feeling I've gotten those calls since then. Perhaps there are other groups doing this.
csziggy
(34,137 posts)The FTC stops one and another pops up. I'll still cheer every time the FTC manages to prosecute one of them, though.