Knowing the identity of the person calling you is a very helpful tool. There are very few times that you don't want to know this important information. This week I had one of those rare instances. Tuesday morning I got a call from my son. I answered the phone and asked my son, "What's up?"
The caller responded, "Is this Dave's father?"
Right away I knew something wasn't right. Many years ago while still attending college, I got a similar call. This happened before caller ID became available to anyone but the call began with "Is this Rich's brother?" My brother had been in an automobile accident and I was his emergency contact. The incident happened a few miles from where I lived at the time and so I drove to the scene and helped take care of my brother and his young family. Fortunately everyone walked away from two very damaged cars.
Having my son's roommate call me from my son's phone Tuesday morning could only mean that my son had been in an accident. I told the roommate that he had the right person and was informed that my son had been in a bike accident and was in a San Jose, California hospital. Naturally I got the name of the hospital and drove there to be with my son.
I got lucky and my son will make a full recovery. He received a serious concussion, a broken nose, and several facial lacerations requiring about 50 stitches. For the first time my son appreciated that while I live in Utah, I spend most of the week working in California. San Mateo to San Jose is only 35 minutes and I spent the week working from his apartment helping him to recover. As I mentioned, I got lucky. My heart goes out to anyone who gets a similar phone call with more serious consequences.
Showing posts with label caller ID. Show all posts
Showing posts with label caller ID. Show all posts
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Windows Technical Support
Lately I have been getting phone calls from a company claiming that my computer is sending messages to their server and indicating there is a problem. When the phone calls first started, they claimed to be from "Windows Technical Support." I promptly informed them that I don't have any computers running Windows and that they should stop calling me. Did that stop the calls? Nope.
Two weeks ago I files a complaint with the Do Not Call registry as this company was not smart enough to mask their number from caller ID. Did the calls stop? Nope. The company continued calling with a "Blocked" caller ID number. Normally I wouldn't answer such calls but the marina in California where I keep my sailboat also has a "Blocked" caller ID number and so last week I answered the phone thinking it was them. My wife was lucky enough to be in my home office when the call came and it went something like this:
I answered, "Hello, this is Matt."
The female voice replied, "May I please speak with Matthew Bennett?"
"This is him."
"Hello, this is Susan with Computer Technical Support."
I noticed they had changed the name of the company somewhat but thought I would try to be polite. "Yes, and why are you calling."
"We noticed that your computer is sending us data that indicates it is having some problems."
I was intrigued but knew it was the same people that have been bugging me and so I asked a very important question, "Oh really, what kind of computer do I have?"
"It is a computer running the Microsoft Windows operating system."
While that would account for most of the computers in the world, I don't have a single computer that has booted into Windows over the past 2 months and so I replied, "You are a liar. My laptop is a Mac and my desktop runs Linux." I may or may not have said a few more things before I rudely hung up on her.
I was relaying this story to one of my work colleagues and he responded that it is a scam and they got his mother recently. While they only billed her credit card for $90, there is a chance they will use the credit card number for other purposes and so my colleague had his mother cancel her card. After all, you can't really trust a crook to only steal $90.
If you take a step back and think about it, Microsoft technical support wouldn't bother calling you if it noticed a problem. They have much quicker ways of taking your money and don't need to rely on telemarketers posing as technical support. Besides, you might just ask them about a real problem you are having because there are so many.
Two weeks ago I files a complaint with the Do Not Call registry as this company was not smart enough to mask their number from caller ID. Did the calls stop? Nope. The company continued calling with a "Blocked" caller ID number. Normally I wouldn't answer such calls but the marina in California where I keep my sailboat also has a "Blocked" caller ID number and so last week I answered the phone thinking it was them. My wife was lucky enough to be in my home office when the call came and it went something like this:
I answered, "Hello, this is Matt."
The female voice replied, "May I please speak with Matthew Bennett?"
"This is him."
"Hello, this is Susan with Computer Technical Support."
I noticed they had changed the name of the company somewhat but thought I would try to be polite. "Yes, and why are you calling."
"We noticed that your computer is sending us data that indicates it is having some problems."
I was intrigued but knew it was the same people that have been bugging me and so I asked a very important question, "Oh really, what kind of computer do I have?"
"It is a computer running the Microsoft Windows operating system."
While that would account for most of the computers in the world, I don't have a single computer that has booted into Windows over the past 2 months and so I replied, "You are a liar. My laptop is a Mac and my desktop runs Linux." I may or may not have said a few more things before I rudely hung up on her.
I was relaying this story to one of my work colleagues and he responded that it is a scam and they got his mother recently. While they only billed her credit card for $90, there is a chance they will use the credit card number for other purposes and so my colleague had his mother cancel her card. After all, you can't really trust a crook to only steal $90.
If you take a step back and think about it, Microsoft technical support wouldn't bother calling you if it noticed a problem. They have much quicker ways of taking your money and don't need to rely on telemarketers posing as technical support. Besides, you might just ask them about a real problem you are having because there are so many.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Do Not Call
Lately I have been getting a call on my mobile phone from a number I don't recognize. It happens that I always seem to be in a meeting or tied up during the call and so I have yet to answer. Caller ID is nice as I can see the number. Normally I wouldn't bother calling a strange number back, but it happens to be from a location where I have extended family. Yesterday I decided to try and call the number back just in case it was a long-lost relative telling me I had inherited a bunch of money. Actually I knew it wasn't about any inheritance as I have so many extended family members that any wealth would be spread so thin, my share would only amount to a few pennies, but curiosity got the better of me and so I called.
That was a huge mistake. A recorded message answered the phone at the other end and said something along the lines of, "Thank you for calling this marketing company back." I immediately hung up realizing I made a huge mistake. Now they know my phone actually has a person on the other end. This morning I got another call from the same number. Once I got in front of a computer, I immediately went to the "Do Not Call" registry and made sure to enter my mobile number on the list. Anyone that wants to avoid pesky telemarketers should do the same.
The process if fairly simple. Just enter up to 3 numbers and your e-mail address. They will send you an e-mail with a link to click and complete the process. A second after entering my mobile number I had an e-mail in my inbox asking to confirm my phone number. I clicked the link and was told my number is now on the list. I have to suffer through any telemarketers for the next 31 day, however after that I can file a complaint should I receive a call. Yes, complaints can be filed at the same website. I only wish the list was good for charities, political organizations, and telephone surveyors. They still get to call. Bummer!
That was a huge mistake. A recorded message answered the phone at the other end and said something along the lines of, "Thank you for calling this marketing company back." I immediately hung up realizing I made a huge mistake. Now they know my phone actually has a person on the other end. This morning I got another call from the same number. Once I got in front of a computer, I immediately went to the "Do Not Call" registry and made sure to enter my mobile number on the list. Anyone that wants to avoid pesky telemarketers should do the same.
The process if fairly simple. Just enter up to 3 numbers and your e-mail address. They will send you an e-mail with a link to click and complete the process. A second after entering my mobile number I had an e-mail in my inbox asking to confirm my phone number. I clicked the link and was told my number is now on the list. I have to suffer through any telemarketers for the next 31 day, however after that I can file a complaint should I receive a call. Yes, complaints can be filed at the same website. I only wish the list was good for charities, political organizations, and telephone surveyors. They still get to call. Bummer!
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