worked call centers for many years, doing tech support and customer service mostly, (don’t get me started on angry customers that got mad cuz they couldn’t buy bus tickets from usa mainland to hawaii. this was my first call center job.)
most of centers use same systems to do calls for both robocallers and live callers. their phones are connected to computer systems that call over internet, (VOIP – voice over internet phone). these systems can make caller id show any number or name they want you to see. this is called spoofing. regular companies do this to broadcast their company name and main number. telemarketers, spam callers, robocallers, even collection agencies use this to make you think call coming from someone else or that call is local number. collection agencies can use it to send numbers like local police numbers so you will think police or sheriff will come arrest you if you don’t pay your bill.
reason i said all this is to show i know how this works. sometimes, i pretend i am state fraud department and let spam callers think i am govt official. many hang up so fast it funny. i also sometimes wish i was a combined hacker/phone phreaker, and could track their call and change their automated dialers to call themselves, or other spam callers, or best outcome would be send all calls to owners or their clients that hired them to make all the calls go to hem non-stop.
some tips on unknown callers, or especially any you not sure of:
never give out information. if they ask for someone you don’t know, but give your name, they usually record it can ask for you next time they call your number. they will record anything you say to use later also, like family members or job info, anything they can use to keep you on the line.
if they make you nervous, tell them you have to go, and will call them back at their listed main number. don’t call back to number they give you.
worked call centers for many years, doing tech support and customer service mostly, (don’t get me started on angry customers that got mad cuz they couldn’t buy bus tickets from usa mainland to hawaii. this was my first call center job.)
most of centers use same systems to do calls for both robocallers and live callers. their phones are connected to computer systems that call over internet, (VOIP – voice over internet phone). these systems can make caller id show any number or name they want you to see. this is called spoofing. regular companies do this to broadcast their company name and main number. telemarketers, spam callers, robocallers, even collection agencies use this to make you think call coming from someone else or that call is local number. collection agencies can use it to send numbers like local police numbers so you will think police or sheriff will come arrest you if you don’t pay your bill.
reason i said all this is to show i know how this works. sometimes, i pretend i am state fraud department and let spam callers think i am govt official. many hang up so fast it funny. i also sometimes wish i was a combined hacker/phone phreaker, and could track their call and change their automated dialers to call themselves, or other spam callers, or best outcome would be send all calls to owners or their clients that hired them to make all the calls go to hem non-stop.
some tips on unknown callers, or especially any you not sure of:
never give out information. if they ask for someone you don’t know, but give your name, they usually record it can ask for you next time they call your number. they will record anything you say to use later also, like family members or job info, anything they can use to keep you on the line.
if they make you nervous, tell them you have to go, and will call them back at their listed main number. don’t call back to number they give you.
(continued)