So you get their email too, eh Monk?

Glad I'm not the only victim. 

I actually suggest to my customers(note the majority of my customers are seniors) that if they get such calls,

(first make sure that their computers are NOT switched on),

then that they should play 'dumb' and not know WHAT a computer is ,

and get the caller to describe what it should look like,

and when the caller gets to the type of description of a 'screen' that the customer sits in front of and looks at,

I suggest that the customer says, 'but I call that a TV. Would you like me to turn on the TV?',

assuming the caller says yes(thinking that it is a computer that will be turned on) I suggest the customer turns on an ACTUAL television receiver,

then ask the caller what channel did they want the customer to switch to,

then change the tv channel to the one suggested,

and with a bit of luck the caller will realise that this is a total waste of their time at this point.

harpo

Hilarious.

Holy crap Microsoft and Avast did that exact same thing to me they called me telling me they where receiving error codes and telling me I had an infection on my machine.I went along they did a remote went straight to my event log then reliability monitor then performance monitor . Well to make a long story short they tried to extort 189.99 from Avast tech and Microsoft tried to get 249.99 to fix my P.C needless to say I ripped them a new asshole to say the least Tech support does not exist none of them do anything to help at all. every time I have called they screw things up even worse then it started. I fix all problems myself they did not know that I am a Technician retired.

^ Correct. Those were attempts to scam, and the elderly are targeted especially for this as they are rarely tech savvy.

It's unfortunate that these security companies and the AARP don't provide some form of online learning for them so they can avoid these scams.

Oh believe me when I tell you I knew it was a scam.I just wanted to see how how annoying they would be wanted to have some fun with them I knew it was not Avast or Microsoft my best friend was here at the time and he got a hoot out of it. I ripped in to them big time. And the word is YES the elderly are targeted at every corner the AARP should be involved greatly !

Execution without trial.

I got the email too and promptly deleted it. Scam was written all over it.

Nice diversion.  Thank you.  Hope it educates folks about scams...

I don't receive scam emails of this nature but I have had a few calls from 'Microsoft Support', and somebody with an Indian accent telling me that my PC has been detected as having xxxxx amount of errors and potential flaws that would allow external attacks, etc. 

I'm fully aware that Microsoft does not phone customers [unless it's in response to a query, as I have had happen] so I'm on the ball as soon as the purport to be from Redmond... or Sydney in the case of Australia. 

Anyway. my first thing is to say "please just wait a moment" and then I sort of muffle the speaker so it can still be heard at the other end and say to some non-existent person [not that they know that]: "Okay, we got another one on the line, put a trace on it."  Hehe, they hang up faster than a rat up a drainpipe when a mean and hungry tomcat's after it.

It's the quickest way to get rid of them, though I suppose I could have some fun and lead them up the garden path... as in before I 'politely' tell them to eff off. However I'm usually busy or otherwise disinterested and just can't be bothered.

Talk about fraudulent phone calls. I've gotten several from a company that says it is investigating fraudulent use of my credit cards and it gives me a number to call back. Funny thing is...I don't have any credit cards or even debit cards.  

I must admit that I also use the 'request a large value cheque so that I can open an account  with them' method for all the very few 'finance' mobs that actually do get to talk to me.

as far as phone calls go the levels of defence aginst them are

1 is that the landline is unlisted,

2 is on the do not call lists at each level of 'government' in the country,

3 has a phone/fax answering machine set up with the message "you have reached the '(name)' fax machine. if you want to send a fax, press send now, if you want to speak to a member of the household please call the mobile number (note NO phone number given)" and no there are no instructions for leaving messages,

4 IF I receive such a call on my mobile, I usually start by telling the caller that they are in breach of the national and state communications acts as they have broke the 'do not call lists' as well as their corperate do not call list, and that it is a $1000 dollar compensation and $1000 dollar fine for EACH breach of the do not call lists, and they now OWE me $3000  and each level of government $1000 that they MUST PAY or face jail time. by this time the scammer is usually backpeddling and very appologetic, but so far I have not received a cent from the scammers (btw I am NOT a lawyer, just a computer tech that has some lawyers as customers, and can NOT stand any form of scamming)

harpo