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> I got a call from a very professional sounding woman That's usually the tell, right there. Legit support operations tend to sound unprofessional as hell. He

> I got a call from a very professional sounding woman That's usually the tell, right there. Legit support operations tend to sound unprofessional as hell. Heavy accents, scratchy lines, scripts referencing the wrong OS, etc.

mavamaarten 2y ago
Yeah, hah, it is funny that "Google offering phone support" is so unthinkable to me that it's a red flag for a scam.
- vel0city 2y ago
  Yeah, that was also another big red flag for me. I do have paid services on other Google accounts and have dealt with their support before, but the account they were trying to break into was an ancient one I made as a teenager and don't use for much of anything anymore. If Google Support were to call me about anything (unfathomably unlikely, and never about a security issue like this), it wouldn't be from a free account that has never given Google a dime. I have received calls from Google associates before. Almost always some account manager looking to find yet another product to sell me. Never proactively to any kind of account issue.
WalterBright 2y ago
I've gotten real support calls where the audio was so bad it was hard to understand anything they said. And/Or the standby music fidelity was so awful it's like pounding a spike in my ears. (Or maybe that's intentional so I hang up and don't bother with them.) You'd think they'd have equipment newer than the 1960's.
foobarchu 2y ago
Depends heavily on the company. Fidelity, for example, has super friendly, local sounding support employees. They will sometimes call you directly, too, for things like "checking in on your retirement goals". If someone called sounding professional, it would not be a tell that it isn't actually fidelity. Plus, most of the weird "customer support" scams I've gotten in the past are people with thick accents on a garbage connection.
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
  Yeah, it was a joke. However, these scammers tend to come across as the platonic ideal of a perfect support rep. My wife almost got taken by one, several years ago.
  - bdangubic 2y ago
    here’s what I don’t understand - why isn’t all education related to this kind of shit very simple. never answer a call (or return a call from voicemail) and never open/respond to an email. being in this industry for 2.5+ decades the first thing I thought my wife was exactly this. and my daughter as soon as she was of age where she started her digital life. 100% no exceptions. never ever answer a call from anyone you don’t know and if you get a voicemail that says whatever never callback. same on the email side, SMS side. no one will be calling you, no one will be emailing you… except scammers, no exceptions.
    - lukan 2y ago
      "no one will be emailing you… except scammers, no exceptions." Might be, because I was travelling a lot, but I got lots of unknown numbers calling me that turned out to be friends with a new number. Now I surely could have locked myself up in a cage then there would be no risk, but also not reward. Calling a unknown number back - no. But taking a call and saying hello did never cost me anything. I also don't just send money away or would install weird things on my computer because someone on the phone says so, so what is the danger?
      - bdangubic 2y ago
        friends with a new number can leave a voicemail saying they are who they are (or text or hit you up on social or…) taking a call from unknown number, never under any circumstance. people calling you do this for a living, you pick up and your odds are stacked against you. maybe not yours or mine but my Father’s for sure :)
        2y ago

mavamaarten 2y ago

Yeah, hah, it is funny that "Google offering phone support" is so unthinkable to me that it's a red flag for a scam.

vel0city 2y ago
Yeah, that was also another big red flag for me. I do have paid services on other Google accounts and have dealt with their support before, but the account they were trying to break into was an ancient one I made as a teenager and don't use for much of anything anymore. If Google Support were to call me about anything (unfathomably unlikely, and never about a security issue like this), it wouldn't be from a free account that has never given Google a dime. I have received calls from Google associates before. Almost always some account manager looking to find yet another product to sell me. Never proactively to any kind of account issue.

WalterBright 2y ago

I've gotten real support calls where the audio was so bad it was hard to understand anything they said. And/Or the standby music fidelity was so awful it's like pounding a spike in my ears. (Or maybe that's intentional so I hang up and don't bother with them.) You'd think they'd have equipment newer than the 1960's.

foobarchu 2y ago

Depends heavily on the company. Fidelity, for example, has super friendly, local sounding support employees. They will sometimes call you directly, too, for things like "checking in on your retirement goals". If someone called sounding professional, it would not be a tell that it isn't actually fidelity. Plus, most of the weird "customer support" scams I've gotten in the past are people with thick accents on a garbage connection.

ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
Yeah, it was a joke. However, these scammers tend to come across as the platonic ideal of a perfect support rep. My wife almost got taken by one, several years ago.
- bdangubic 2y ago
  here’s what I don’t understand - why isn’t all education related to this kind of shit very simple. never answer a call (or return a call from voicemail) and never open/respond to an email. being in this industry for 2.5+ decades the first thing I thought my wife was exactly this. and my daughter as soon as she was of age where she started her digital life. 100% no exceptions. never ever answer a call from anyone you don’t know and if you get a voicemail that says whatever never callback. same on the email side, SMS side. no one will be calling you, no one will be emailing you… except scammers, no exceptions.
  - lukan 2y ago
    "no one will be emailing you… except scammers, no exceptions." Might be, because I was travelling a lot, but I got lots of unknown numbers calling me that turned out to be friends with a new number. Now I surely could have locked myself up in a cage then there would be no risk, but also not reward. Calling a unknown number back - no. But taking a call and saying hello did never cost me anything. I also don't just send money away or would install weird things on my computer because someone on the phone says so, so what is the danger?
    - bdangubic 2y ago
      friends with a new number can leave a voicemail saying they are who they are (or text or hit you up on social or…) taking a call from unknown number, never under any circumstance. people calling you do this for a living, you pick up and your odds are stacked against you. maybe not yours or mine but my Father’s for sure :)
      - 2y ago