Posted on 01/04/2020 8:00:04 AM PST by DUMBGRUNT
> I don’t get why people play stupid games with them <
These games can be very effective! I have an older phone that doesn’t have caller ID. So when I pick up the phone and get a scammer, I play a game. I talk to them in Hungarian, a language I have some fluency in.
Since I’ve started doing this, my scam calls have been reduced by maybe 2/3. I even had one scammer tell me, in a thick Hindi accent: “I don’t get you. You are off our list.”
For all of you who missed Dave Berry’s year in review article where he discuss ransomware attacks. “Ransomware is sort of like a Microsoft Windows update except someone knows how to fix it.”
Concur. There is a point at which restoration of backups costs as much or more than the ransom but it's still foolish to pay it because they'll be back. If you're in that position, you're paying too much for your backup system anyway. A professional IT team doesn't get caught in that trap either.
1. You need a newer phone
2. You must not have anything else to do. I do.
> You must not have anything else to do. <
My apologies. I thought I was giving you a reasonable option here. If I knew you were going to respond in such a snarky manner, I would have said nothing.
Those that know me know to use text or email. I also use it for mapping and checking traffic conditions. Streaming music to my headphones while at work, etc.
Wasn’t that the software whose ads featured American flags and said it was made in America? The one that did nothing and was actually a Chinese product?
Roger that.
There is no excuse for any company or government entity to ever succumb to ransomware. I guess they saved a lot of money by skipping backups.
—
I wonder what percentage of small businesses even think of running periodic data backups?
My cell phone is my business line so I see telemarketers as a huge nuisance that I shouldn’t have to deal with. So, no, I’m sorry that I don’t see playing games with them as a viable option.
Perhaps my earlier posts weren’t clear. I’ve been known to be a bit obtuse!
Please understand that the purpose of my posts to you was to suggest options when trying to reduce scam calls. Yes, these options can be classified as “games”. But their goal is not amusement. Their goal is to reduce scam calls. And as I noted, it has worked for me. And it has worked for others. So I consider it time well-spent. Other folks might feel differently. I understand that.
And I understand how frustrating these scam calls must be to you, seeing as how important your phone is to your business. I hope you can find something that works for you.
you have the solution. We need a law that for bitcoin/etal to do business in the USA, they must arctic freeze any demand for ransom account and turn any related info over to the FBIers in real time, before the ransom due date. Without a means for transferring funds, there can be no ransom.
That makes sense, but then employers should also steel themselves against meteors and zombies. It would be an incredible financial burden to provide for every possible scenario, no matter how remote! I have no sympathy for telemarketers, but hopefully such a case would get thrown out.
At home ‘off grid’ copies ... great idea.
He used to upload first thing getting in the house, not even small talk until it was going.
I suggested the handcuff option for his briefcase, he did not laugh?
He spec’d the gear as read after write verification and the worst case was two days of data loss and he believed they could recover some of that.
“Ransomware is sort of like a Microsoft Windows update except someone knows how to fix it.”
After the big Win 10 update ate my password on the dual-boot workstation, I never finished the restore.
Now all Linux all the time.
If your phone service has called ID implemented?
No need for a new phone.
30+ years ago our young daughter was receiving weird calls.
The local police recommended a caller ID box.
The first time the phone rang with the box it told the story.
Yes, someone, she knew.
And the little box is working away on my desk 30+ years later!!!
Directive 10-289?
I haven’t ever heard that claim, that they are really a Chinese company, but they do tout the fact that they are an American company.
If you have a company large enough to afford 300 employees, there is no excuse for not having an IT staff skilled enough and with foresight enough to prevent this happening.
Ransomware can’t affect back-ups that are off-site and off-line.
Actually, telemarketers can spoof using your own name, and or fake numbers.
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