6 ms·

You can safely replace Americans with 'citizens of any non 3rd world country'.

ryanlol 10y ago
Only my +1 numbers get these calls.
hobarrera 10y ago
Nope, it's mostly people in the US that fear their governments like that. I don't see anyone from Finland, Iceland, or Holand falling for this sort of thing (language barriers aside), because they don't run around scared of the government.
- Arnt 10y ago
  It's s/government/Microsoft/ in those countries. Perhaps that shows that people expect Windows to break in strange ways and are afraid of what Microsoft might do ;)
- nogridbag 10y ago
  If you read the article the IRS scam is just one of several common scams that Indian call centers perform. I would imagine the Microsoft tech support scam is much larger than the IRS scam and has global reach. Edit: If you want to be amused there's plenty of youtube videos of people toying with the scammers using VM's.
- gnufied 10y ago
  It seems scammers are targeting first generation immigrants to US more than anyone else. Now - as a immigrant myself I can imagine how traumatic it can be to get call from IRS when you don't know your way around tax system. Obviously - people on HN are an exception but often times - life of an immigrant hangs by a thread - "there is an EAD renewal coming up in Feb if it doesn't get approved (for some reason), you lose your job, lose your home, may even have to go back to your home country".
- joeax 10y ago
  I was thinking the same thing. We have been conditioned in the US to fear the government to such degree (the IRS in particular) that it makes these calls seem plausible and frightening to the more vulnerable segment of the population.
- thinkMOAR 10y ago
  Just you don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. There was actually a big tv report *in hoLLand on this matter, the reporter travelling to india and facing his fraudulent callcenter contact... so please don't just write things you think are true.
kalleboo 10y ago
It's a bit harder to recruit people who speak Japanese in India to call center jobs... And even marks in countries that speak good English (Sweden) aren't going to fall for a scam call that is made in English (this is the Swedish tax agency, apparently we can't speak Swedish though) One of the great things about living in a non-English speaking country is that they are unable to outsource their support phone line. Also helps with incoming scams.
mikeash 10y ago
Perhaps the English-speaking ones, but Indian call-center talent won't be nearly so plentiful for targeting, say, France or Sweden.
bjelkeman-again 10y ago
We used to get call center calls from India to our U.K. number, but then they where insurance scams of some type. "There has been a traffic accident on your street involving your car..." at a time when I didn't have a car. I would tell them and I kept getting the calls every couple of months.

Only my +1 numbers get these calls.

Nope, it's mostly people in the US that fear their governments like that. I don't see anyone from Finland, Iceland, or Holand falling for this sort of thing (language barriers aside), because they don't run around scared of the government.

Arnt 10y ago
It's s/government/Microsoft/ in those countries. Perhaps that shows that people expect Windows to break in strange ways and are afraid of what Microsoft might do ;)
nogridbag 10y ago
If you read the article the IRS scam is just one of several common scams that Indian call centers perform. I would imagine the Microsoft tech support scam is much larger than the IRS scam and has global reach. Edit: If you want to be amused there's plenty of youtube videos of people toying with the scammers using VM's.
gnufied 10y ago
It seems scammers are targeting first generation immigrants to US more than anyone else. Now - as a immigrant myself I can imagine how traumatic it can be to get call from IRS when you don't know your way around tax system. Obviously - people on HN are an exception but often times - life of an immigrant hangs by a thread - "there is an EAD renewal coming up in Feb if it doesn't get approved (for some reason), you lose your job, lose your home, may even have to go back to your home country".
joeax 10y ago
I was thinking the same thing. We have been conditioned in the US to fear the government to such degree (the IRS in particular) that it makes these calls seem plausible and frightening to the more vulnerable segment of the population.
thinkMOAR 10y ago
Just you don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. There was actually a big tv report *in hoLLand on this matter, the reporter travelling to india and facing his fraudulent callcenter contact... so please don't just write things you think are true.

kalleboo 10y ago

It's a bit harder to recruit people who speak Japanese in India to call center jobs... And even marks in countries that speak good English (Sweden) aren't going to fall for a scam call that is made in English (this is the Swedish tax agency, apparently we can't speak Swedish though) One of the great things about living in a non-English speaking country is that they are unable to outsource their support phone line. Also helps with incoming scams.

mikeash 10y ago

Perhaps the English-speaking ones, but Indian call-center talent won't be nearly so plentiful for targeting, say, France or Sweden.

bjelkeman-again 10y ago

We used to get call center calls from India to our U.K. number, but then they where insurance scams of some type. "There has been a traffic accident on your street involving your car..." at a time when I didn't have a car. I would tell them and I kept getting the calls every couple of months.