OT: Anyone Ever Mess With Scammers?

CTMike

I received an interesting opening line on a text scam so I decided to try and mess with them. Warning: If a photo of a butchered horse would bother you, it’s probably best you don’t click on the link.
Anyhow, I posted the entire conversation here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/scambait/s/Eqg47RoKB1

Mr1egg

I once had  email from a Russian women who said she loved me and was asking for money. I sent a pic of a e-transfer waiting to be sent to her if she calls me or gives me her number. 

They actually gave me a number and when I called nobody picked up :(. Funny that they couldn't even get a female to answer the phone for a possible transfer.

GrateEggspectations

I once had an older coworker who would ask every single scammer if their mother was proud of them. 

Legume

#canadianvigilanteeism

JohnInCarolina

GrateEggspectations said:

I once had an older coworker who would ask every single scammer if their mother was proud of them. 

lol

zaphod

i had a scammer call me a few months ago with stupid bad information along the lines of "i am from computer help. are you the computer person at the house?" obviously off-shore. 

I started into him that his pitch was not good enough, he didn't have my name, try to fool me out of my name, did guess at my computer, or my provider or anything.  I told him that there was a certain bar that scammers need to meet if they phone this house and he needs to up his game. He sound hurt, apologized and we went our separate ways.

i mean really - "are you the computer person in the house?"  jeez Louise. 

Gulfcoastguy

Most scammers try to text me with executable links. I just quietly swipe left. Here is another thing. Never say yes on the phone when talking to a scammer. They record it and use your own voice for various identity frauds.

Legume

Mostly I don't interact at all, don't want to confirm my email, phone number, etc. is a viable target.  When I do answer the phone and don't recognize the number, I just answer, don't say hello or anything and 90% of them disconnect, or rather they don't connect on that end to a person. It seems like the auto dialing software needs to hear you to connect you to a live scammer. If it's a real call, someone always says hello? After I answer in silence.

lousubcap

I'm right there with you @Legume.  If I don't recognize the number I ignore the call.  Voice mail if they want to leave a message.  

Hungry Joe

I have, but I don't think I can post my conversations here. Basically when the I got a call I would describe sex acts that I was in the middle of. I did this about 4 or 5 times. Finally a few weeks went by, I got a call and did my routine. The guy got pissed and said " oh you're that butt F#$% guy" and hung up on me. I scored that a win for me. Some guys at work were cracking up listening when I got these calls.

It's funny, I didn't get many spam calls for a while.

RRP

lousubcap said:

I'm right there with you @Legume.  If I don't recognize the number I ignore the call.  Voice mail if they want to leave a message.  

Me too. Back when I was a working stiff I had to answer calls at home at night and on weekends because I was the guy staff and customers were to call if there was a problem. Because of that I never wasted money for caller ID...but when I retired caller id was one of the first things I signed up for. Now if I don't recognize the number or caller it goes unanswered.  Though I still maintain a landline I have a recorder so if some clown still wants to talk to me they can leave a message. I'm amazed at how many just hang up when they hear my "you have reached..." Right now I am being pestered by a funeral home sales vulture where I had signed up for an informational meeting but it got canceled due to lack of sign ups. Now that clown wants to talk to me and keeps calling and he must not undersand how much that pisses me off!

RRP

RRP said:

lousubcap said:

I'm right there with you @Legume.  If I don't recognize the number I ignore the call.  Voice mail if they want to leave a message.  

Me too. Back when I was a working stiff I had to answer calls at home at night and on weekends because I was the guy staff and customers were to call if there was a problem. Because of that I never wasted money for caller ID...but when I retired caller id was one of the first things I signed up for. Now if I don't recognize the number or caller it goes unanswered.  Though I still maintain a landline I have a recorder so if some clown still wants to talk to me they can leave a message. I'm amazed at how many just hang up when they hear my "you have reached..." Right now I am being pestered by a funeral home sales vulture where I had signed up for an informational meeting but it got canceled due to lack of sign ups. Now that clown wants to talk to me and keeps calling and he must not undersand how much that pisses me off!

I can't believe it! It is 8:30 on a Saturday night and that sumb*tch just tried to call me again!

zaphod

just scream (in your best British accent) - "I'M NOT DEAD YET!!" and hang up.

fishlessman

i just hang up without a word. was better in the old days when you hung up on actual people who would immediately dial you back and start swearing how rude you were......the electricity scammers never give up

Gulfcoastguy

I often say “you have 3 seconds to speak up or I hang up”. Back when I had a landline I would let them get started on their spiel and quietly lay the receiver on the counter. A friend I knew would hand the phone to his two year old girl.

Legume

https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/o2-unveils-daisy-the-ai-granny-wasting-scammers-time/

Someone may have posted this in another thread, I can't recall where I saw it.  I love it.

zaphod

yeah, came up in the BC higher-ed  security working last month. I keep wondering since then if I can get Doris to meet up with my MIL... really a win win.

JohnInCarolina

Legume said:

https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/o2-unveils-daisy-the-ai-granny-wasting-scammers-time/

Someone may have posted this in another thread, I can't recall where I saw it.  I love it.

This is the way.

Botch

Not really a “scammer”, but when I lived in Albuquerque there were two or three carpet-cleaning businesses that would call me over and over, asking me to have them clean my carpets; no matter how much I pleaded for them to stop they didn’t.  
One in particular got me really mad, and I finally looked up their business location, and their owner.  I visited them at 3 pm, Friday, right before a 3-day weekend, and asked the receptionist, “Is “John Smith” (the owner) here?  I was his college roommate, and am in town for a couple hours and would like to see him!”.  Receptionist: “Um, I’m sorry, he’s gone home for the weekend”.  Me:  “Oh, darn it, my flight leaves late tonight….”  Receptionist:  “Um, well, here’s his home phone #…”. Me:  “Oh Thank You, it’s been years since I’ve talked to “John Smith””.  

SCORE!  

I called him that night, at 6 pm, dinner time.  “Hi! I’d like to get my carpets cleaned”.  
He: “Um you’ve reached a private number”.  
Me: “Yeah, I’m a private number too, could I get my carpets cleaned?”  
He:  “Who is this?!?”
Me:  “Aren’t you John Smith, owner of ShitHeads Carpet Cleaning?”  
He:  “Yes, but… how did you get my home number?!?!”
Me:  “How did you get mine?  Can I get my carpets cleaned?”
He:  “Call my business on Monday!”  >Click!<
(this was ~1990, before Call Blocking/Caller ID)
 
Next day (Saturday) I called him at noon, he sounded a bit irritated, and told me to call his business on Monday;  >Click!<.  Called him at 6 pm that day,   >Click!< . I had a gig.that night, and didn’t get home until around 2 am, gave him a call.
Me:  “Hi!  I’d like to get my carpets cleaned.”
He:  “Uh, wha…. You again!  Listen, g**d*** SOB, I want you to QUIT calling m  >Click!<. <(that one was me)
 
Called him at noon on Sunday.
Me:  “Hi!  I’d like to get my carpe…”.  >Click!<
 
Monday night, 6 pm, gave him a call:
Me:  “Hi!  I’d like to get my carpets cleaned.”
She:. “You!  You need to stop calling us at home, this is getting ridiculous!”
Me:  “Your husband needs to stop calling ME at home, okay?!?”  
She:  “&%$@%!!”  >Click!<
 
I called them at 6 pm Monday night, no answer.  6 pm Tuesday, again no answer.  TDY Wed-Friday.  Called them at noon Saturday:
Me:  “Hi!  I’d like to get my carpets cleaned.”
He:  “Listen you g**d*** SOB &%^#$@!!”   >Click!<  (He had a more colorful vocabulary than his wife)
 
Sunday, called them at noon, no answer.  Monday, called them at 6 pm, and got a recording!  “This phone number is no longer a working phone number, please consult your….”    
 
And again I got a call from his business, but I was prepared this time: had a police whistle next to the phone.  Gave the poor call-girl a blast (felt kinda badly about that, the harassment calls weren’t her decision), and they never called again.  I had my PCS orders to Grand Forks by then, and that problem faded into the rear-view mirror.  

 

lousubcap

@Botch- that is an exceptional opening move and play right there.  Masterful.  He who laughs last, laughs best.

fishlessman

i like that botch

Canugghead

Don't mess with @Botch

fishlessman

my first cell number was originally  the number for a local drug dealer. calls would come in fri, sat night. i would call them back early morning between 4 and 5 am while heading out in the boat.

@botch.  used to have a handyman type caller with a message that lasted a good 15 minutes or so explaining all the things he did. it would go on and on, it would fill up my machine. i saved that and would hit play when i called and left messages........

Gulfcoastguy

Not really a scammer but in the 90’s someone stole my candy bar Motorola phone. I got another with the same phone number and found that I could access a list of all of the phone calls that the thief made. That meant I had a list of 10 of his friends. One day I received a call. His girlfriend was is jail and wanted him to bail her out. She was determined that I was him. I told her that he was in possession of stolen property and that the county lockup was just the place for him to go.

Gulfcoastguy

I think that the scammers have a new hobby.

kl8ton

Back when Nextel direct connect was a thing... and gps nav was not:

Wrong direct connect numbers were frequent. I received a few different requests for directions to "the party," "the cottage," "the item for sale," etc...

I obliged. 

Edit: so it's a little OT as the caller was not a scammer.... But it was entertaining coaching drivers as they tried to find the location. 

alaskanassasin

kl8ton said:

Back when Nextel direct connect was a thing... and gps nav was not:

Wrong direct connect numbers were frequent. I received a few different requests for directions to "the party," "the cottage," "the item for sale," etc...

I obliged. 

Edit: so it's a little OT as the caller was not a scammer.... But it was entertaining coaching drivers as they tried to find the location. 

I miss Nextel, I hate that they killed it.  Everyone always had their speaker on and it worked like a two way radio. I remember my buddy cashing his check at the bank and radioing over “this is a stick up” or when someone was in line at the gas station “what’s your **** problem” that **** was great.

GrillinSailor

This is the best response I’ve seen.
https://youtu.be/4QsIQOevMLg?si=X45FgfHKTptbk-eL

Botch

GrillinSailor said:

This is the best response I’ve seen.
https://youtu.be/4QsIQOevMLg?si=X45FgfHKTptbk-eL

That was excellent!  

CTMike

GrillinSailor said:

This is the best response I’ve seen.
https://youtu.be/4QsIQOevMLg?si=X45FgfHKTptbk-eL

I loved the Bob Marley references at the end.