I think the worst part about being unemployed and not currently going to school is the phone calls from telemarketers. I’m on the Canadian Do Not Call list, which to date has been pretty effective. Other than the occasional call from a market research firm, or a promotion from a company I’m registered with, I’m mostly left alone. However recently I’ve been receiving phone calls from a call centre in India claiming to be contacting me on behalf of “Windows” or “Microsoft” or “The Internet”. Yes, you heard me, they’ve claimed to be calling on behalf of “THE INTERNET”.
An example of my most recent call from them goes something like this:
[Call Start]
Telemarketer [friendly] : Hello, I am calling on the behalf of Window’s Operating System, and our records indicate that the internets are reporting a large number of virus originating from your Microsoft computer.
Randy [emotionless] : I am aware that this is a scam. Please stop calling me.
Telemarketer [angry in a thick Indian accent] : Well, how do you know this is a sc--
[Call Ended]
For any one reading this, yes, these calls are scams. For one, Microsoft will never cold call you regarding any customer support issue. They will only call you if you first contacted them about an issue.
This scam is so big at the moment that even the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has listed it as their “Scam of the Week”. Please go to their site for more details.
