# What's the point (with insulting Indian phone calls)? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 11, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927 "2019-07-11T21:23:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/1 "2019-07-11T21:23:40Z")
Recently, I have received calls with spoofed CIDs pretending to be local, but when answered, are obviously from Indian boiler rooms. Sometimes I can detect the particular scam (typically credit card rate reduction scams), but not always. What distinguishes these calls from others is the caller seems to enjoy insulting the callees in what he thinks is the most possible offensive language.[sup]\*[/sup] In my experience, if a scam caller detects, even suspects, the call will not produce any income, he hangs up. Hey, time is money, so why continue? But some callers delight in throwing out offending language, like “Do you want to suck my dick?” “You can eat my shit!” and “I am fucking your mother, asshole!” and it goes downhill from there – long, long after it is obvious that this call will not generate any revenue. Why? Is there some perverse pleasure in calling random numbers and yelling such crap at Americans? Are they paying a service for this privilege (they certainly aren’t making any money from it, so they must be paying)? In short, WTF? * * * - Doesn’t offend me in the slightest. It only reinforces my prejudice against Indians. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/2 "2019-07-11T21:27:08Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > It only reinforces my prejudice against Indians. In short, 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:** [July 11, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/3 "2019-07-11T21:30:29Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > In short, WTF? 😕 It’s hard to maintain a favorable or even neutral attitude towards any group when the only encounters with them are blatantly unwanted, fraudulent, and offensive. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/4 "2019-07-11T21:36:17Z")
1.6 billion people. I’m sure there are a couple of nice ones somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/5 "2019-07-11T21:37:26Z")
I have never heard of such calls. Given the OP’s last statement, I am guessing that he is being pranked by people that know him. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/6 "2019-07-11T21:39:42Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > 1.6 billion people. I’m sure there are a couple of nice ones somewhere. I dunno, even Gandhi was a racist. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/7 "2019-07-11T21:40:57Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > It only reinforces my prejudice against Indians. If you blame over a billion for the actions of a handful, then that reflects very poorly on you, not them. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/8 "2019-07-11T21:42:09Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Given the OP’s last statement, I am guessing that he is being pranked by people that know him. I don’t know ANYONE in India. It’s possible someone in that country has decided to pursue a useless personal vendetta, but why? Now we’re back to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/9 "2019-07-11T21:44:20Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I don’t know ANYONE in India. But you know they are all offensive fraudsters? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/10 "2019-07-11T21:45:42Z")
This is truly bizarre. I’ve never heard of such a thing, and find it difficult to imagine. I’m just trying to be logical here — I mean this in all seriousness — have you perhaps been ingesting hallucinogenic substances? Not a snark. I’m really trying to help you figure this out. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/11 "2019-07-11T21:56:35Z")
I’ve gotten similar calls, and occasionally they’ve become abusive after I asked a lot of questions because I was bored. But this reflects poorly on phone scammers, not any ethnicity or nationality. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/12 "2019-07-11T21:59:33Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > This is truly bizarre. I’ve never heard of such a thing, and find it difficult to imagine. I’m just trying to be logical here — I mean this in all seriousness — have you perhaps been ingesting hallucinogenic substances? Never have. Probably never will. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/13 "2019-07-11T22:00:09Z")
I would say that this is an extension to the telephone system of [the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory](https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19). > [@](#): > > it goes downhill from there – long, long after it is obvious that this call will not generate any revenue. Why, may I ask, are you still on the phone at that point? If I may guess: perhaps they are annoyed at you for not just hanging up and for stringing them along? I’m not claiming they would be justified there, but I imagine if I were a phone scammer and I got suckered into thinking I had a live one for a bit, I might throw out some invective when I realized otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/14 "2019-07-11T22:02:47Z")
Okay, thanks. Wow, this still surprises me, but I trust the accuracy of your story. ETA: I see it’s been corroborated by iiandiiii. Okay, then. Wow, that’s terrible, and I’m sorry you had to endure this abuse (seriously). As others have noted, perhaps you’ll consider ending the calls sooner (not that this excuses their behavior). ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/15 "2019-07-11T22:05:30Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I would say that this is an extension to the telephone system of [the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory](https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19). > > Why, may I ask, are you still on the phone at that point? > > If I may guess: perhaps they are annoyed at you for not just hanging up and for stringing them along? I’m not claiming they would be justified there, but I imagine if I were a phone scammer and I got suckered into thinking I had a live one for a bit, I might throw out some invective when I realized otherwise. _The Onion:_ “Why Do All These Indians Keep Fucking My Mom?” ---
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/16 "2019-07-11T22:06:51Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > But you know they are all offensive fraudsters? All the calls I have received from India in the last 5 years are. Just in case you aren’t aware of this, India is a hotbed of phone fraud. It’s not racial prejudice, just a fact. Ask Jim Browning where the call centers are and how many millions they make each month from victims. Hey, folks, discussion about India or Indians is derailing the thread. Why would anyone want to spend time insulting potential customers, especially if it become obvious that the call recipient isn’t going to fall for your scam? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/17 "2019-07-11T22:08:03Z")
I can’t imagine why they do that. Maybe they sense some hostility from you toward them, but I don’t know why that would be. > [@Musicat](#): > > It only reinforces my prejudice against Indians. Oh. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/18 "2019-07-11T22:12:16Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > This is truly bizarre. I’ve never heard of such a thing, and find it difficult to imagine. I’ve actually received one like that. I answered the phone at my mother’s\* house and got someone with an Indian accent who was trying to sell some credit scam. I informed him we were on a do not call list and that I was reporting the call and asked his name. He immediately went into a tirade of abuse, calling me a motherfucker and so on, and threatening to harass my mother (mentioning her first name) by repeatedly calling her. After the first shock, I just stayed on the line without responding, bemusedly listening to him rant on for about five minutes. I took some satisfaction in that he was wasting so much of his time. Unlike the OP, that’s the only encounter of this kind I’ve had. Most of them just hang up immediately when confronted. I suppose being in a low paying job trying to rip off old people where most people you contact abuse and despise you eventually gets to you. But I didn’t have the slightest sympathy for the sucker. \*My mother has dementia and always takes scam calls seriously and insists on answering them if she gets to the phone first. Fortunately (I guess) she can’t remember her birthday or social security number and hasn’t had credit cards or a bank account in her name for years. Although the guys can’t do any damage and it wastes their time to talk to her, I don’t like to see her get all confused by the call. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/19 "2019-07-11T22:13:44Z")
Wow. Sad. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927/20 "2019-07-11T22:16:13Z")
> [@JKellyMap;2174544...](#): > > Wow, that’s terrible, and I’m sorry you had to endure this abuse (seriously). As others have noted, perhaps you’ll consider ending the calls sooner (not that this excuses their behavior). I am not in the least offended by these idiots, who are trying their damned best to get my goat. Not possible. I have all the time in the world, and since I know these are crooks trying to separate innocent victims from their money, every minute I occupy them is a minute they are (1) not making any money, and (2) not stealing from anyone else. Let’s say it’s a public service. > [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Why, may I ask, are you still on the phone at that point? See above. > [@](#): > > If I may guess: perhaps they are annoyed at you for not just hanging up and for stringing them along? I’m not claiming they would be justified there, but I imagine if I were a phone scammer and I got suckered into thinking I had a live one for a bit, I might throw out some invective when I realized otherwise. You may be right. But I return to the OP: since these scammers are in it for the money, why don’t they cut their losses when it is obvious that they won’t earn anything? Do they think they will grind me down and I will give up my credit card number? Are they getting pleasure from thinking they are offending me? If so, then they are stupider than I thought. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-with-insulting-indian-phone-calls/836927.md?page=2)