# What is this scam? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 2, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/665189 "2013-08-02T21:22:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [August 4, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/665189/21 "2013-08-04T16:22:17Z")
> [@L. G. Butts](#): > > At this point I hung up, bored. No, you should keep going, you’re doing fine! I haven’t had a call like this recently. Or maybe I have, but because I don’t answer strange calls, I haven’t actually talked to the scammer, and I doubt they leave a message. If they’re targeting neighborhoods, mine is a prime target – full of clueless old people. I wish they’d call me – I can record the conversation and put it on YouTube for laughs. I wonder what I could say to keep it going and incriminate the caller in the best possible way? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/665189/22 "2013-08-04T22:02:25Z")
> [@L. G. Butts](#): > > - > > Our servers are receiving error messages from your computer. > \* > > _What servers are those?_ > > _Global servers._ > > _Global servers, you mean domain name servers?_ > > _Global servers._ > > _Wait, are you talking about the windows software global Java servers, because that would mean that my compiler has lost http connectivity!_ > > _Exactly, sir. The servers…_ We have top men working on it now. Who? Top. . . men. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/665189/23 "2013-08-04T23:44:19Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I get these calls now and then. > > Next time, I’m gonna claim that my computers are all Macs, or are all running Linux, just to see what the response is. That’s exactly what I did. They just hung up at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/665189/24 "2013-08-05T00:28:03Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > No, you should keep going, you’re doing fine! > > I haven’t had a call like this recently. Or maybe I have, but because I don’t answer strange calls, I haven’t actually talked to the scammer, and I doubt they leave a message. > > If they’re targeting neighborhoods, mine is a prime target – full of clueless old people. I wish they’d call me – I can record the conversation and put it on YouTube for laughs. I wonder what I could say to keep it going and incriminate the caller in the best possible way? Well, for one thing, you should imply that you have TONS O’ CASH. Maybe say something like this: RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN LOOKING TO GET THE SCAMMER TO INCRIMINATE HIMSELF: Gee, that sounds really serious. I was just on my way out the the Rolls Royce dealership–I just won the lottery! I’m so excited! My bank can’t even hold all the money so I have to help them out by spending some of it! …But of course it’s important that my computer gets fixed. What were you saying you’d need to fix it? SCAMMER: Uh, well, just your credit card number. Uh, yeah. We can get you fixed right up. RCLTGTSTIH: Okay, but my regular credit card is only a low-limit one. I’m going to be getting a new one with a HUGE limit soon! I’ll be happy to give you that number as soon as I get it, because I really want to get this computer problem fixed! SCAMMER: Uh, yeah, that would be great. RCLTGTSTIH: So I should have it soon–maybe in tomorrow’s mail…but I need to be taking care of some stuff and won’t be home for a while. Not for days, in fact! You won’t be able to phone me here…I know, I should call you with my new credit card number! Or I could mail it to you. Or email. Just give me your contact info and we can get this show on the road! ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/665189/25 "2013-08-05T16:33:34Z")
I sure wish one of these scammers would get my mom. They could get as frustrated as me! Me: You need to reboot your computer. Mom: What does that mean? Me: Click on the Start button. Mom: Where’s that? Are you talking about the on/off switch? Me: No, on your desktop, there’s– Mom: (shuffling through papers) What, where? Me: Not your ACTUAL desk, Mom. Your COMPUTER’s desktop! Mom: What’s that? Me: The main screen. The one you go to when you sign on. Mom: Okay, i just turned the power off. Me: :Why did you do that? Mom: Because it’s how I get to the screen when I sign on. Me: Argh! ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/665189/26 "2013-08-05T19:02:05Z")
I hope they call me sometime when I have time. I have done tech support for a living, I could confuse the hell out of them. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/665189/27 "2013-08-12T17:12:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I get these calls now and then. > > Next time, I’m gonna claim that my computers are all Macs, or are all running Linux, just to see what the response is. When I asked the scumbag how my Mac could have a Windows virus, he hung up. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/665189/28 "2013-08-15T23:03:04Z")
I got two calls today! Two! I managed to get both of them to waste over 5 minutes apiece with me. I told them that there was no possible way that they were getting error messages and warnings from my computer. They were insisting that they were. I won’t bore you with the details, but after the five minutes were up, I started insulting them, saying that they must think that I’m as stupid as they are, and that they are immoral lying scumbags, and then I dropped the Mac lie on them. Yes, I do use Win7, but I feel perfectly justified in lying about my OS in this case. I also asked them how they could live with themselves, did their parents bring them up to be liars and cheats, or did they develop this on their own, and asked how their mom and dad felt about what they were doing. I have never enjoyed a scam call so much in my LIFE. I highly recommend this approach. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-scam/665189.md?page=1)