# "Microsoft" scams and the elderly (too mild for Pit) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 4, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201 "2019-01-04T17:19:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201/41 "2019-01-05T21:10:06Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I dont say “Hello”, I answer with a scary sounding “Yes”. Seems to scare them off. I usually don’t say anything, since any word will trigger the recorded message. If there is a person on the line, he or she will say something to the dead air. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201/42 "2019-01-05T21:18:24Z")
I was visiting my aunt a year ago (she’s 85); while she was in the next room checking her email, she got a call. A few minutes later she started reading off a string of numbers and I went in to see what was up. Me: What’s Up? Aunt: This guy’s from Microsoft; he said my Windows subscription had expired and he needs to remote into my computer to renew it. Me: (a) There’s no such thing as a Windows subscription, so it can’t expire; (b) if it did expire, they’d send you an email so you could pay online, and © you have an iMac, so you need to hang up now. He’s trying to rip you off. I then told her to never give anybody any information over the phone like that unless she called them for support. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201/43 "2019-01-05T21:37:12Z")
> [@DummyGladHands](#): > > I work in phone relay for the elderly deaf. It’s horrible how often they fall for this crap. Make sure your parents or loved ones’ banks know to question any large withdrawal, and preach to them (not the bank) about phone scams. I hear the scammers from my end, they’re really good at what they do. The hurt grandson crap is back. About 13-14 years ago when I was an optician we got a call through a phone relay from someone wanting us to send them some expensive designer glasses. We wouldn’t help them because 1: There was a strong smell of scam, and 2: We couldn’t do that anyway because making prescription eyewear correctly requires face-to-face time with the patient and the frame to do the proper measurements. We called around and found that other optical shops and O.D. offices were getting similar calls, presumably from the same people. From my research at the time, it was (maybe still is) common for scammers to use the relay services to hide their whereabouts, because the relay operators weren’t allowed to do anything but read the client’s words verbatim - even if the operator knew it was a scam they weren’t allowed to do or say anything to let the other party know. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201/44 "2019-01-05T21:42:52Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > No never say Yes. They record the Yes and use it as proof that you agreed to their scam. > [@Skywatcher](#): > > Yeah, dodgy phone companies have been known to do that. Better to use a pissed off “What?” Although there have been many claims of this happening, there appears to be no evidence it actually occurs. > [@](#): > > The “Can you hear me?” scam for now seems to be more a suggestion of a hypothetical crime scheme than a real one that is actually robbing victims of money. In messages we left with the BBB, the FTC, and the Consumer Federation of America, we asked a question absent from all the news reports we’ve encountered about this scam: “Are there any documented cases of people being victimized in this manner?” We have not yet received any affirmative response to those queries. > **['Can You Hear Me?' Scam Warning](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/can-you-hear-me-scam/)** > > Dozens of news outlets reported on a purported scam wherein fraudsters supposedly falsify charges by randomly calling people and asking 'Can you hear me?' ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201/45 "2019-01-05T22:29:17Z")
^^^Ninja’d by Doug K. And I agree. Besides, why should they record “yes,” when the scammer can just say it himself? ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201/46 "2019-01-06T02:28:39Z")
I’ve found that if we let anything suspicious go through to the answering machine, 99.9% will hang up immediately [/QUOTE] My machine’s outgoing message is very short (“Hey. Leave a message.”), so most spam callers don’t realize they’re talking to a machine. Every day I get several messages that go “Hi. How’re you doin’ today? Hello? Hello? Hello?” Then they hang up. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201/47 "2019-01-06T03:40:46Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Although there have been many claims of this happening, there appears to be no evidence it actually occurs. > > ['Can You Hear Me?' Scam Warning | Snopes.com](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/can-you-hear-me-scam/) > [@TheCuse](#): > > ^^^Ninja’d by Doug K. > > And I agree. Besides, why should they record “yes,” when the scammer can just say it himself? I was referring to [slamming](https://consumerist.com/2016/04/21/slamming-a-classic-90s-phone-scam-is-still-alive-and-well/). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201/48 "2019-01-06T04:23:31Z")
I’m 71 and fall for nothing involving money. The latest big scam is with Social Security. Someone sends a letter claiming to from the SSA and saying that your account is compromised and that you might be arrested and to call a number. When you call, the person convinces the person to withdraw funds from their account, to go to a specific ATM and purchase bitcoins. And people have fallen for this to the tune of billions of dollars, apparently. WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201/49 "2019-01-06T04:48:36Z")
Even though he may be misquoted, apparently, [P. T. Barnum was right.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_sucker_born_every_minute) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201/50 "2019-01-06T19:15:38Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > We have NoMoRobo and those “card services” robocalls trying to lower our interest rate have figured out how to get through. It’s only a matter of time before “Windows” does as well. They’ve managed to get through here a few times. I report the number… and the next one is from a different spoofed number. I think there will soon be a time where nobody can call anyone directly at all, because everyone’s number is reported as spoofed. I once got an annoyed-sounding callback from a person saying someone had called her from my number. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201/51 "2019-01-06T19:27:33Z")
> [@Newtosite](#): > > My machine’s outgoing message is very short (“Hey. Leave a message.”), so most spam callers don’t realize they’re talking to a machine. Every day I get several messages that go “Hi. How’re you doin’ today? Hello? Hello? Hello?” Then they hang up. 🙂 I don’t know if my results are from automated systems recognizing the message (which is longer than yours) or people realizing that my chances of calling them back are slim to none. I’m glad because my answering machine has the annoying feature of making you listen all the way through a message before you can delete it, so it would be a pain if a lot got through to it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-scams-and-the-elderly-too-mild-for-pit/827201.md?page=2)