Mastodawn

That is genius!

Update:

LOL, someone reported me to, err, me... The first report I have ever had!

Seems I have to clarify.

All junk calls I get, are either not legal under PECR, or actually fraudulent. I am assuming this is the nature of this call. If not, then not so funny.

I have zero sympathy for someone that works for criminals. Arguing that the only job you can get is working for criminals does not justify it. Sorry. But that is my free speech opinion.

So I won't be suspending myself.

Océane Jul 31, 2024

@revk I'm not sure you understand how much stress this person has put on a delocalized worker, who's already alienated in normal conditions, having to follow a route made by white collar workers. He may have a family to feed and he isn't the problem himself. He may have been fired, or at best he's lost an hour of paid labor while fearing losing his job, in great distress.

This is only funny for ignorant people, and there's arguably racism in that. Do better.

Nangpa 🇳🇴Jul 31, 2024

Maybe I can't read, but the topic here is not skin colour, nationality or race - not even close...
So, I don't see the racism issue

Océane Jul 31, 2024

@Nangpa @revk Because this kind of call center is often abroad, and because the call operators are often PoC.

Nangpa 🇳🇴Jul 31, 2024

Sorry, @oceane

Fediverse is worlwide with people/users from around the globe and we can't be too "woke" all the time.

I don't mind "woke" people but this got nothing to do with this post by @revk

Océane Jul 31, 2024

@Nangpa @revk Indeed but speaking as a white person I can tell you without a shadow of doubt that when white people think about call center scams they think about brown people. If harming a call center scammer is harming a brown person, then this post is embedded in a racist culture and in racist practices. I didn't say that revk was racist, and I have the luxury not to have to jump to conclusions. I'm just saying, I will repeat, that "there's arguably racism in that".

24😷-185 Jul 31, 2024

@oceane @revk @Nangpa There are call centres in India who make fradulent calls to English-speaking elderly people about their computer.

They are brought down by hackers because Indian authorities won't do anything and are often bribed by local politicians.

The bosses make hundreds of money by selling inefficient computer protections. The cold-callers barely hide their joy when they see a well-fed bank account and when they are caught about lying about their identity, they resort to insults.

Are you seriously suggesting that nothing should be done against that because that would be considered as racism!?

Océane Jul 31, 2024

@240185 @revk @Nangpa Absolutely not! But are you sending this message in the context of national Indian calls, with (1) based on what you say, lacking legal resources due to political corruption, and (2) from my point a view, a negligible number of elderly white people?

I'm saying here that sharing this kind of messages on social media is embedded in racism, and that racism isn't a solution, it's part of everyone's problems with crime, scamming, and so on, because it reinforces a social system based on forcing people to contribute to it to meet their own needs (Adam Smith), and that's been coopted by a class of oppressors, that defend a system waging wars for their own benefits (e.g. natural resources appropriation, such as oil, or even as weapons manufacturers). If this is in the context of national Indian calls, then racism from white people feels irrelevant, isn't it?

I won't improvise myself an Indian activist, but I'm sure that you can find a trust-based network of local orgs in about 15 minutes by querying about any reputable search engine. Racism isn't part of the solution, but lending these orgs a hand on your spare time, sharing their press releases on your account, blogging about them would be. From the top of my head, these would be the solutions I would suggest in this context.

24😷-185 Jul 31, 2024

@oceane @revk @Nangpa I was writing the message thinking about international calls, targetting people in UK or United States from India. But the points you raised are valid, although I wouldn't consider the ratio between the amount of money fraudulently obtained and the number of victims as "negligible".

Océane Jul 31, 2024

@240185 @revk @Nangpa Sure, but then I would encourage you to join local data protection activists. It's all fun and games until you ask which data broker has sold them your contact info.

No need to hurt anyone.

@oceane @240185 @Nangpa That gets you nowhere - they just hang up!

Océane Jul 31, 2024

@revk @240185 @Nangpa Threatening them to sue them if they did has worked in the single case I did this. They've indeed hanged up twice, then I've threatened them, then they got concerned.

@oceane @240185 @Nangpa I'm impressed. The fraud ones don't have anyone to sue - you don't get any identity of who they are. The junk calls are crap at identifying themselves, I have tried hard on occasion to just get a company name that is not made up. *if* I played along enough to get as far as paying something, maybe I could identify who I paid somehow. But until then, who do you sue.

Well done making progress. But it is a battle, which is the point of the original post.

Océane Jul 31, 2024

@revk @240185 @Nangpa In my case they were contacting me on behalf of SFR, a crappy French ISP, so I could just have sued them.

Oh and I was recording the call.

Océane Jul 31, 2024

@revk @240185 @Nangpa Because the French law requires us to inform people they're recorded (including by e.g. CCTV cameras) that's how I was starting my call. Then "if you hang up, I'll sue you", "give me the name of the data broker", and the call operator probably started to feverishly look up diagrams.

@oceane @240185 @Nangpa So you got some low paid worked anxious and worried about his job because they have had to hand over details that could get the company sued (and recorded their side as well I am sure)... So "abusing a worker", the very thing you don't want to do.

And if you succeed in suing then they lose the job.

There is no nice way to sort this out, and breaking their phone for a bit is no worse.