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OK, that was funny. Crypto scam caller asks me to install Anydesk. I call him out on being a scammer and he gets angry at me, because "he is a professional with 10 years of experience in this line of work"
He "only wanted to help me get access to the blocked account I have and the money that is inside that account".
Little did he know that I do not actually own any crypto currencies :)
@Skoop I mean, this is a stretch, I know, but do you think there’s any chance these folks are being scammed into doing this? Like thinking they work for a real operation while being kept out of the loop as to what they’re actually doing?
@aral that would explain his immediate anger when I called him a scammer. I can't really imagine how they would scam me without the caller knowing it's a scam. But OK, maybe, perhaps, it is possible that you're right
@Skoop Company A offers outsourced call centre services. Scam Company B hires Company A and provides instructions for how to help their customers access their accounts. Perhaps Company A management knows Company B is a scammer, perhaps not (likely yes) but people working the phones for Company A might legitimately think they’re helping Company B’s customers. Also, it might not even take two companies. Company B might present itself as legit to employees. Again, it’s just a theory :)
@aral @Skoop It might, but I think the people doing the calls would quickly figure out what was going on.
To summarise, I don't think it's worth feeling sorry for the callers as exploited/tricked workers or anything like that. In almost every case I'm pretty confident that they're aware that they're trying to scam people.
@bob @Skoop Sure, yeah, did say it was a stretch :)
Mind you, nearly every cold-calling operation out there is a scam anyway. Even the ones run by so-called reputable names. I remember being a teen and working a few days at a call centre that was selling memberships for a well-known brand (think it was Hilton but it was a long time ago). Anyway, turned out it was basically about getting money from lonely old folks. Couldn’t quit quickly enough.
@aral @bob @Skoop Yes. The planet brain version is that a significant fraction of the economy must be about trying to trick people into spending money that they don't need to spend. So it's really a continuum between blatant scams and official businesses using sales techniques, "nudge" and dark patterns. Exploiting fears and weaknesses for profit becomes easy if there is enough surveillance.
Anna Filina