[Milsurplus] Messin' with scammers.

[KD7JYK DM09]

"There weren't any hackers then."

I've been a hacker (someone who figures things out without reading the documentation) so long, it was before the word was entirely confused with computer vandals...

"Some people have contacted the scammers and "played them""

I love those guys.  First, I'm NEVER disturbed by their calls, because, and I know it's all rocket sceiency'n'stuff, I TURN OFF my ringer.  The phone rings, and it's annoying, but I found a high-tech workaround!  They don't leave messages, because they can't scam an answering machine, another scientific marvel that thwarts them entirely!  How do I know they called?  Caller ID that's glanced at occasionally.

Then it's MY turn...  I call them back- tens of thousands of times in some instances.  To make it even more exciting, since I can patch up to four of them together, I do.  I let them pull their scam on themselves.  It's even more exciting when the scammers are in different countries at war with each other since the beginning of time.  It's very insightful to listen to them tell each other what they will do, and how, and gets REALLY exciting when they are in the same boiler-room and go after each other in person.

Now, the dumb ones keep answering, much to my occasional delight when I turn the speakers on. The dumber ones usually crash and burn, the record is for "Microsoft", 1 minute, 36 seconds until their system crashes (odd, you'd think microsoft would have better computers).  Next, the "Internal Revenue Services" (note the S on the end, am I the only one that's noticed they say they are someone else?)  One minute, thirty-eight.  The REALLY dumb ones can't handle getting what they give, and guess what?  They call the Feds to complain that someone in the US keeps calling them, and that's the end of that- for them.  I actually look forward to scam/phisher/robocalls, and shutting them down so others won't be victimized, not because I like to help others so much, but because I get off on it.

Kurt