Not comcast

September 28, 2021

Yesterday I got a call from this number. (844) 784-8175 It was a recorded message (sounded like text to speech voice) saying they're from Comcast, claiming there is something wrong with my equipment and they need to get into my home. I hung up, saved the number and checked it online. It turns out it was listed as a Robocall number. So I didn't worry about it. Today, I get a call from the same number with a live person (female), with a foreign accent, saying the same thing that was in the recorded message of the previous call the day before, but also knew my name. So I told her, I checked the number she was calling from and it's a number used by scammers, and told her I felt threatened that she is demanding someone gets inside my home. I said if anyone comes here unexpected from Comcast (because it's xfinity and there are no Comcast service persons anymore), and they try to force their way into my home, I would massacre them and then I hung up. Pissed off now, I called the number back! This time a male answered with the same foreign accent (may have been Chinese), and I told him the same thing. Then when I hung up, the internet went out. O_O Freaked me out. I reset the modem in case there was an update sent that didn't correct itself and required manual maintenance. Sometimes that happens. After about 15 minutes, the internet came back up. Xfinity (not Comcast) doesn't do what these people did. They don't send you a recorded message and they don't call you about anything. If you have a problem, you have to call them.

July 25, 2021

Fake Comcast Xfinity technical support scam by madarchod criminals phoning from India. This is a fake Comcast impersonation computer support scam by criminals calling from India. The scam begins with a pre-recorded robotic message speaking English, often with bad grammar, that is generated using text-to-speech translation software to disguise the origin of this India scam, but then you talk to the India scammer. The recording tells you either that they are receiving alerts from your computer or network showing errors, they noticed someone is trying to steal your identity, your firewall security has been breached and they noticed suspicious activity on your computer, or that they noticed a hacking attempt on your computer. Unless you recently contacted Comcast, AT&T, Spectrum, Dish Network, Microsoft, Dell, HP, or Apple about a very specific problem, ALL unsolicited phone calls that you receive from Comcast, AT&T, Spectrum, Dish Network, Microsoft, Dell, HP, or Apple Support are scams that either say your computer has a problem that requires you giving them your credit card, or that your computer has a virus and they will tell you to use a browser to visit a ultraviewer.net, cbttr.com, gotoassist.com, or fastsupport.com website and enter a code that lets the scammer take control of your computer and then they install their own real ransomware virus that freezes your computer and these scammers then force you to give them your credit card number. I played with this India scammer for about 30 minutes, pretending that I was a computer novice and therefore a gullible victim for him. The scammer told me to use a browser to access a website that would allow the scammer to remotely access my computer and he told me to press the "Windows" key. I kept telling him there was no "Windows" key on my keyboard. That ate up 10 minutes of his time while I was cooking and I was not even using a computer lol. I wasted another 20 minutes of his time by pretending that I did not know how to use a browser. I tensed my vocal cords so I sounded old and talked very slow. I kept asking him to repeat what he said, and I kept acting until he hung up frustrated lol. About 65% of North America scam calls come from India and 30% come from the Philippines. India scammers run hundreds of fraud, extortion, and money laundering scams every day such as posing as a fake pharmacy, fake Social Security officer saying your benefits are suspended, IRS officer collecting on fake unpaid back taxes, debt collector threatening you for fake unpaid bills, fake bank/financial/FedEx/UPS/DHL scams, pretending to offer fake health insurance, car warranty, student loan forgiveness, credit card and debt consolidation services, posing as Amazon to falsely say an unauthorized purchase was made to your credit card or your Prime membership was auto-debited from your bank, posing as Microsoft/Dell/HP/Apple to say your account has been hacked or they detected a virus on your computer, fake "we are refunding your money" or "your account has been auto-debited" scams, fake Google/Alexa listing and work-from-home scams, posing as electric utilities, Verizon, AT&T, or Comcast, fake solar panel and home purchase offers, fake fundraisers asking for donations, fake phone surveys, and the scammers try to steal your credit card, bank account/routing number, Social Security number, and personal information. India scammers often rotate through fake Social Security, subscription auto-renewal, pharmacy, and pre-approved loan scams on the same day. Philippines scammers focus more on auto/home/health/life insurance, Social Security and Medicare identity theft. Scammers use disposable VoIP phone numbers (e.g. MagicJack devices) or they spoof fake names and numbers on Caller ID. Anyone can use telecom software to phone with a fake CID name and number. Scammers spoof thousands of fake 8xx toll-free numbers. CID is useless with scam calls unless the scam asks you to phone them back. CID area codes are never the origin of scam calls since scams use spoofed CID numbers from across the US and Canada, numbers belonging to unsuspecting people, invalid area codes, and fake foreign country CID numbers; e.g. fake women crying "help me" emergency scams often spoof Mexico and Middle East CID numbers. Scammers often spoof the actual phone numbers of businesses such as Apple, Verizon, and banks to trick you into thinking the call is valid. How can you avoid being scammed by phone calls? NEVER trust any unsolicited caller who: sells something (most unsolicited calls are scams so your odds of saving money are very poor); asks for your Social Security number; offers a free gift or reward; threatens you with arrest/lawsuit or says you need to reply back soon (pressure tactic); asks you to access a website, download a file, wire transfer money or buy prepaid debit/gift cards; claims suspicious activity on your account; says your subscription is being refunded or auto-renewed/auto-debited; and all pre-recorded messages. Recordings are far more likely to be malicious scams and not just telemarketer spam. All unsolicited callers with foreign accents, usually Indian or Filipino, are usually scams. Filipino scammers tend to speak better English than Indian scammers. Filipinos speak English with a subtle accent having a slight trill. Scams often say that you inquired about a job, insurance, social security benefits, or that you previously contacted them or visited their website. A common India scam plays a fake Amazon recording. Amazon account updates are emailed, not robo-dialed. Many banks use automated fraud alert calls to confirm a suspicious purchase, but verify the number that the recording tells you to phone or just call the number printed on your credit card. India scammers impersonate AT&T DirecTV, Comcast, or a cable/Internet company, offering fake discounts or service upgrades. Indians impersonate the IRS and Social Security Administration. The IRS/SSA never make unsolicited calls and never threaten to arrest you; they initiate contact via postal mail. Real lawsuits are not phoned in, especially not using vague threats lacking details; legal notices are mailed/couriered. The police, FBI, DEA never phone to threaten arrest; they show up in person with a warrant. Scammers try to gain your trust by saying your name when they call, but their autodialer automatically displays your name or says your name in a recording when your number is dialed using phone databases that list millions of names and addresses. Scammers often call using an initial recording speaking English, Spanish, or Chinese that is easily generated using text-to-speech translation software to disguise the origin of their India phone room. Some speech synthesis software sound robotic, but others sound natural. To hide their foreign accents, some India scammers use non-Indians in their phone room. Scammers often use interactive voice response (IVR) robotic software that combines voice recognition with artificial intelligence, speaks English with American voices, and responds based on your replies. IVR calls begin with: "Hi, this is fake_name, I am a fake_job_title on a recorded line, can you hear me okay?"; or "Hi, this is fake_name, how are you doing today?"; or "Hello? (pause) Are you there?"; or "Hi, may I speak to your_name?" IVR quickly asks you a short question to elicit a yes/no reply so it hangs up if it encounters voicemail. IVR robots understand basic replies and yes/no answers. To test for IVR, ask "How is the weather over there?" since IVR cannot answer complex questions and it keeps talking if you interrupt it in mid-sentence. IVR usually transfers you to the scammer, but some scams entirely use IVR with the robot asking for your credit card or SSN. A common myth is IVR calls record you saying "yes" so scammers can authorize purchases just using your "yes" voice, but scammers need more than just a recorded "yes" from you - credit cards and SSN. Phone/email scams share two common traits: the CID name/number and the "From:" header on emails are easily faked, and the intent of scam calls is malicious just as file attachments and website links on scam emails are harmful. Scams snowball for many victims. If your personal/financial data are stolen, either by being scammed, visiting a malicious website, or by a previous data breach of a business server that stores your data, then your data gets sold by scammers on the dark web who will see you as fresh meat and prey on you even more. This is why some receive 40+ scam calls everyday while others get 0 to 2 calls per day. If you provide your personal information to a phone scammer, lured by fake 80%-discounted drugs or scared by fake IRS officers, you receive even more phone scams and identity theft can take years to repair. Most unsolicited calls are scams, often with an Indian accent. No other country is infested with pandemics of phone room sweatshops filled with criminals who belong to the lowest India caste and many are thieves and rapists who were serving jail time but released early due to prison overcrowding. Scammers often shout profanities at you. Just laugh at their abusive language. Google "Hindi swear words" and memorize some favorites, e.g. call him "Rundi Ka Bacha" (son of whore) or call her "Rundi Ki Bachi" (daughter of whore). Scammers ignore the National Do-Not-Call Registry; asking scammers to stop calling is useless. You do these scammers a favor by quickly hanging up. But you ruin their scams when you slowly drag them along on the phone call, give them fake personal and credit card data (16 random digits starting with 4 for Visa, 5 for MasterCard), ask them to speak louder and repeat what they said to waste their time and energy.

July 17, 2021