Today, I received a phone call from 1-510-943-3040.
A gentleman with an Asian accent informed me that he is from the MS Windows Service Department (or whatever) and that in the last 30 days, they received repeat warnings from my computer about some malware attack.
I played along for a minute or two… but when the gentleman asked me to turn on my computer, I just couldn’t any longer. Still holding back my anger, I first explained to him that right now I am staring at a bookshelf containing a number of books I wrote about C++ and Windows programming; that I’ve been a computer professional since the 1970s (true, I received my first professional contract at the tender age of 16 in 1979)… and then, in language more rude I am afraid, I also told him that they are nothing but crooks and criminals, and that he should get off my f…ing phone.
The insolence!
I’m curious what the scam would have been…
I’m picturing a world where the boys down at the internet are so concerned about malware on my computer that they contact Microsoft who, based on nothing more than my IP address, look up my Windows licence and from that my phone number in order to proactively resolve my problem without being paid.