Author Topic: Indian phone scammers  (Read 13744 times)

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Offline MrMobodiesTopic starter

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Indian phone scammers
« on: November 05, 2018, 04:57:50 pm »
I get these calls sometimes everyday and it is always a different Indian sounding voice claiming to be from my ISP.
They think it is residential but they are business lines.
Typical claims of all sorts that there is something wrong.

When I ask or say like the following:
"Fair enough, if you know everything about me what is my name?"
"Okay, if there is something wrong with my broadband connection what is my IP address?"
"I don't see any problem on the logs, the lines are all up, no disconnections as of late, no delays, the ping is fine."
"Look, what's the problem?"
"Can you please turn that background noise down I can't hear you properly?" Sarcasm

They just hang up.

I had to block withheld numbers for the ones that were hiding behind it but they hide behind many others.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2018, 05:09:46 pm by MrMobodies »
 

Offline Raj

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2018, 05:09:33 pm »
just call them 'kutta'.they'll never call you again
 

Offline MrMobodiesTopic starter

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2018, 06:35:45 pm »
Can't do that.

They can have me arrested on some hate crime.
 

Offline eugenenine

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2018, 10:54:38 pm »
I've gotten those calls a couple times.

"Hello, I've with tech support and your computer is having a problem"

"Thats funny, I'm from tech support too and your computer is having a problem"

I went back and forth with one of them from "Microsoft" for a good 10 minutes and had my kids ROFL.
 

Offline Brumby

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2018, 10:56:27 pm »
Got a call yesterday that made me laugh...

The "number calling" was 00059047790 and my first thought was if I tried calling back, I'd probably get Emergency Services.  (000 is the Australian equivalent of America's 911)

I let it ring out, so I don't know what I missed out on.
 

Offline GeoffreyF

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2018, 02:23:18 am »
I tell them that I am with Pentagon Cyber Security and we already have a SEAL team on their way to them.  The guy snorts. I say, please stay on the line I want to hear you scream.
US Amateur Extra W1GCF.
 

Offline Mr. Scram

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2018, 02:38:25 am »
I tell them that I am with Pentagon Cyber Security and we already have a SEAL team on their way to them.  The guy snorts. I say, please stay on the line I want to hear you scream.
Maybe that story needs a little polish.
 

Offline Gyro

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2018, 12:41:45 pm »
The last few I've received have been a synthesized voice claiming to be from my (unspecified) ISP. Presumably, if I let the message actually get to the end, it would ask me to push a button to speak to a scammer.

The call center must be downsizing their scamming staff!  >:D
Best Regards, Chris
 

Offline rrinker

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2018, 06:05:26 pm »
The last few I've received have been a synthesized voice claiming to be from my (unspecified) ISP. Presumably, if I let the message actually get to the end, it would ask me to push a button to speak to a scammer.

The call center must be downsizing their scamming staff!  >:D

Fewer people falling for it, revenue is down, got to cut staff to maintain profit!
 

Offline Cyberdragon

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2018, 06:17:59 pm »
just call them 'kutta'.they'll never call you again

You can look up entire lists of Hindi swears to throw at them, some of which are quite creative and dastardly. >:D
*BZZZZZZAAAAAP*
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Offline MK14

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #10 on: November 06, 2018, 06:35:23 pm »
Raspberry PI 3 + some programming and then using VIOP, can phone them back (for free I think), at up to twenty calls, at the same time.

See it done here:

 

Offline Wilksey

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #11 on: November 06, 2018, 06:36:21 pm »
Got to give them points for persistence!

Bloody annoying, luckily they phone the house phone which has some shitty answer message and half the time it cuts them off.
 

Offline CJay

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #12 on: November 06, 2018, 06:49:05 pm »
I'm wonderng if you could patch two together and have them fight it out...
 

Offline MK14

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #13 on: November 06, 2018, 07:10:52 pm »
You can get "Lenny", software for the Raspberry PI. Which automatically answers the calls, and pretends to be a human (an old man's voice). It can be really funny to listen to.

Example call:

 

Offline Cyberdragon

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #14 on: November 06, 2018, 07:45:44 pm »
I'm wonderng if you could patch two together and have them fight it out...

Easy, use skype. Loads of people do it, it either results in chatting or Hindi swear wars, especially if you get a whole bunch of them.
*BZZZZZZAAAAAP*
Voltamort strikes again!
Explodingus - someone who frequently causes accidental explosions
 

Offline MrMobodiesTopic starter

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #15 on: November 07, 2018, 11:38:47 am »
I prefer a handset.
I can get one of those bridges for them.

You can get "Lenny", software for the Raspberry PI. Which automatically answers the calls, and pretends to be a human (an old man's voice). It can be really funny to listen to.

Example call:



I like that video. It sounds to me like John Cleese drunk.

I'll look at getting one and see how I'll set that up.
 

Offline Domagoj T

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #16 on: November 07, 2018, 09:29:58 pm »
I don't think I've ever received a phone call with an equivalent of an IRS, tech support or a comparable scam. The worst I've ever got were offers for a free dinner (usually for two). And, from what I've heard, it's not exactly a scam either, they sometimes even give you something to eat, but only after they force you to sit through a couple of hours of presentations for ridiculously overpriced silverware, mattresses, makeup,... It's certainly immoral and predatory, but not an outright scam.
And even those calls were not on my home landline, but workplace.
The only person that calls my home landline is my aunt, and not when she wants to talk to me, so I usually don't even bother answering the phone. :-//

Reading about your problems, I get the a feeling of being very lucky, but then again I don't hear other people around me complaining about those types of scams. Maybe it just doesn't happen over here.
 

Offline jhalar

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #17 on: November 07, 2018, 11:38:34 pm »
I had calls last night from a scammer with the same number, spoke on the first call, didn't speak on the next 3.  They said that they were from the "Telstra technical department". They asked to speak to a person that uses the Internet. I said that all members of my family use the internet, who do you want?

That shut him up, he didn't have anything in his script for that question.


Electronics and Network Engineer. Working in both worlds.
 

Offline Circlotron

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #18 on: November 08, 2018, 12:56:26 am »
Seeing that they "know" that it is *my* computer that is sending out malware, I ask them what is my IP address. They say they can't tell me for privacy and security reasons.  :palm:
 

Offline MK14

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #19 on: November 08, 2018, 01:18:21 am »
I like that video. It sounds to me like John Cleese drunk.

I'll look at getting one and see how I'll set that up.

I don't know how to do it either. But found the "Lenny" thing, some time ago, when I also had a number of "SPAM" phone calls. So I searched the internet for solutions.

These following videos, seems to give clues about how to do it:



 

Offline Cyberdragon

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #20 on: November 08, 2018, 02:34:45 am »
Does this thing have an API? I would want to leave it running but have some interface that could do things during calls like have some LEDs flash or nixies count calls.
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Offline CatalinaWOW

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #21 on: November 08, 2018, 02:45:06 am »
I usually just hang up, but sometimes decide to play with them for a while. 

"Windows?  My computer has windows?  OMG.  Where can I get blinds? I hate Windows without blinds!"

or "My grand-daughter does all the maintenance on my computer, and she is busy having her diaper changed.  Can you call back sometime after her nap time?"

or whatever strikes my fancy at the time.  Many of these guys don't have English as their primary language and something this far off script often throws them for a loop.  But you do occasionally run into one who realizes they are being counter-scammed.  I have been creatively cussed out for wasting their time!
 

Offline MrMobodiesTopic starter

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #22 on: November 08, 2018, 03:00:50 am »
Yes, the last call I got was from a lady Indian this time "my pc".

Hello my name is Ryashc (I can't spell it.)
"We are getting alerts from your PC it has virus."
Me: "What?"
"PC with virus not good for broadband connection"

Me: "Can you turn the background sound down I can't hear you?"

Quickly hangs up.
 

Offline BradC

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #23 on: November 08, 2018, 03:30:47 am »
I have been creatively cussed out for wasting their time!

A couple of times now I've played along and done the "trap them in a VM" thing. I've managed to stretch it out to nearly an hour once (I had some time to waste).

Easy enough to do if you can spin up a windows VM quickly and it does give a good insight into what these creeps get up to. I can easily see how they trap the vulnerable or gullible into letting them in remotely and then watching while they "demonstrate" how the virus has locked up the machine and encrypted all their files. I even got as far as wanting to pay for the decryption but they kept stumbling at the fact an "old pensioner" doesn't have a credit card and does all banking over the counter at the local branch. They called back 7 times over 3 days trying to get me to pay up even *after* I'd made it clear it was a hoax on my part.

They did teach me some new swear words however when I asked one of them how proud his mother would be to know she'd raised a criminal. I figure the more time I tie them up, the less time they're preying on someone else, although I do realise they are not short of manpower.

In the end the other telemarketer calls were doing my head in, so I unplugged the home phone a couple of months ago and we now rely on our mobiles. Life has been much quieter without charity muggers, telemarketers and Indian scammers (that's probably racist as I don't really know if they are Indian or Pakistani).
 

Offline MK14

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Re: Indian phone scammers
« Reply #24 on: November 08, 2018, 04:11:58 am »
Does this thing have an API? I would want to leave it running but have some interface that could do things during calls like have some LEDs flash or nixies count calls.

I'm not sure, I don't know much about it.

But from watching the videos, I put into my post above this one. It does seem to have functionality along those lines.

I already have at least one Raspberry PI, and the exercise of installing "it", seems to be fun and educational, so I'm tempted.

But it seems to need other hardware, to get it working, at least the version in the videos I linked to. There could be a cheaper or easier way, I'm not sure.

****************************************************************************************

In the UK, you can also get phones, which include anti-SCAMMER/SPAM call minder type devices.
I have one/some, so if I was to get a lot of SPAM calls, I can switch it on (or you can enable it all the time).

One of the things it does, is insist that the caller tells it the name of whom they want to speak to. So that, instead of immediately answering the phone, you can check they at least know your name.
98%+ (guesstimate) of the time, they won't know your name.
Your phone doesn't even ring, unless they provide the name and have not been filtered out by a blocked phone number list.

For calls you want, it can recognize the phone numbers of friends/family etc, and let them through, unhindered.
 


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