It’s 2 A.M. and your mobile phone rings. You barely wake up and answer. A voice with heavy accent at the other end of the line is telling you:
– Hello, Mr. John! My name is Patel Kapur from Microsoft and we detected a problem with your computer. Will you please install a program we give you to let us fix it remotely?
– F*** off, mate! I’m using Linux.
This fictional dialogue could be real, and if you use some fancy operating system you’re a lucky one. However, these pranks use social engineering by guessing you’re using Windows, like 80% of the rest.
I’m 100% sure it’s happened to you as well. Got a harrasing phone call from an unknown number? Of course you did. But did you think, for goodness sake, to report the scammer’s number on a dedicated phone call complaints website?
Most of us use the Internet to search for a missed call or unknown number. If you report a phone call with a short comment, people like you will find out about your previous experience. Eventually, they won’t fall into the trap.
One of the newest places to report a disturbing phone call is CallsFrom.com. It’s a fast growing community of users who constantly report unwanted phone calls to help the others. Give it a try!
Disclaimer: names used in the above conversation is purely unintentional.
