My best scammer wind up to date.

Latest SCAM - Microsoft Windows. Virus alert comes up on computer/laptop. Gives lots of spiel and says it cost £3 odd for them to get rid of the virus. Don't give them any bank details as they say they need these.

Well done?

Vampirequeen Now I want to see the film!

vq I hope the call was recorded for training and staff amusement purposes ?

It might go viral ?

Well done Vampire Queen, these calls are so irritating. I have called I.D. so can usually tell if its friend or foe, but just occasionally i grab the phone without thinking. Then I just call them illegitimate but that i am a devout mormon, so i understand.....

and I always thought these callers have to make so many calls in a set time slot....cynical ole me.

Most of the calls I receive are from auto diallers with just a recoded speech. I just auto hang up. (Then block that number)

If I have a spare few minutes I can't resist winding them up. I figure that whilst I'm wasting their time they can't be scamming someone else. Also the call is costing money so the longer I can waste their time the more money they're wasting.

Well done Vampirequeen. Usually I just put the phone down but on one occasion I had a call allegedly from a bank which was not the name of the bank that I use. It was the usual we believe their has been fraudulent activity on your account and we need to ask you some security questions. I said that is fine once you have answered my security questions. I asked what is the name of the account holder, they said can you confirm your name for me, my response that is incorrect. Next I asked what is the account number of the customer, again they said can you confirm that for me, incorrect answer was my reply. I ended the conversation by saying you have failed my security questions and then put the phone down.

Well done.

Caller: We have an offer of free life insurance for one month.
Me: How is that a good thing?
Caller: We will insure your life for £100,000 for a month at no cost to you.
Me: Do you know something that I don’t? Have you been talking to my doctor?
Caller: Not at all. We re just offering you a whole month of free life insurance.
Me: And how does that benefit me?
Caller: We’re offering you a month of life insurance for free.
Me: But I only benefit from that if I die in the next month. So if this free insurance you are offering is going to benefit me, you must know I am going to die within a month. How do you know that? Where did you get the information?
Caller (getting worried): No, we don’t know that you are going to die...
Me: But you think there’s a good chance, because otherwise a month of life insurance isn’t worth having. What’s wrong with me? How long have I got? Who told you?
Caller: No, please don’t worry, we don’t think you are going to die at all. Really, you won’t die in the next month.
Me: Then you are trying to use something utterly worthless to con me into taking out your ridiculously expensive life insurance?
Caller: Erm, well, not exactly...(hangs up)

I once responded to the computer problem scam by asking 'Which computer?' After a bit of backwards-and-forwards-ing we established that there were 13 computers in the house. (That included DH's, DS's, broken ones....) The caller sighed and asked if he was calling a home or a business, at which point I took pity and hung up.

Good stories, I got a call from Sky last week.
Caller : there is a problem with your broadband.
Me: I know.
Caller: we can check your connectivity. What do you have connected at the moment.
Me: television, washing machine, freezer, fridge, toaster and microwave.
Caller: no what is connected as we are receiving reports of poor connection.
Me: yes my washing machine is going slowly and it keeps stopping. Can you fix this please.
Caller: no you are not understanding, what is connected at this time.
Me: my fridge, washing machine, toaster, microwave oh I forgot the tumble drier.
Caller: no you are not understanding. Hangs up.
Later in day caller from Sky, male this time:
Caller: I am calling from Sky, you have a problem with your internet connection.
Me: oh good you called back, I spoke to your colleague earlier.
Caller: so you know what I am going to help you with.
Me: yes you are going to fix my washing machine.
Caller: you are wasting my f***ing time, you stupid woman.
And hangs up.
Best chat I’ve had in ages.
?

Love these scam responses!

I blocked the number but they phoned back later on a different number. Pretended to be a new call so I pointed out that I had spoken to her colleague earlier and explained why I didn't need life insurance. Did I need to explain again?. She couldn't get off the phone quick enough and said she'd remove my number from their list

Well done ladies these are all hilarious!!! ???

Tut tut, wasting scammers’ time, Vampirequeen!.

Some very amusing stories, well done.

Have laughed till I cried - thank you so much ???

I wish I had half of your imagination

I've had so many of these calls lately, including one on Easter Sunday. I let them talk for a bit and then say something like "If there's a problem with my broadband, then you must be a crook".

On a serious note, what I would like to know - given that the calls come from a UK mobile number to my mobile - why are these scammers not caught? Surely those numbers are traceable. Any ideas please?

Most scammers are not phoning from the UK but they set up a call diverting system so that the call appears to come from the UK. It's legal but costs them money.

vampirequeen, geekesse, Bluebellwould I just read these out to DH, he really enjoyed them!

???

Many of the scammers are based in Calcutta, India. Some even work from their own homes.
I love to read about the scammers being sophisticatedly scammed in reverse by clever IT specialists.
Their web cams are hacked, their faces shown, all their files deleted or even better, their computers having viruses installed remotely and rendered unusable.