Most of us know all too well the frustration of receiving never-ending telemarketing calls. Sure, it’s fine to politely thank the the person for their offer and just hang up. But sometimes, the person on the other end is posing as someone that they are not, and in that case, you really need to be on your guard.
Marie Hedén recently received just such a call. Someone claiming to be from an IT center in Canada called her and requested access to her computer. But as you’ll see, the scam artist called the wrong woman. Marie quickly turned the tables on the caller and actually caused the person to hang up in fear!
When a woman from a supposed Canadian IT center called, Marie Hedén sensed something was amiss. The caller wanted to “fix a problem,” but Marie took the opportunity to teach the fraudster a lesson instead.
Marie quickly took control of the conversation with the caller and managed to get her to hang up in fear. Marie later related the conversation on her Facebook page, where it is has been shared by thousands of people. Here it is below.
My phone rings, but I don’t have time to check the number. It takes me awhile to reach it and answer it.
– Good morning, madam.
– Oh, hi. Who am I talking to?
– I am calling from the computer center. Our IT department has received a message from your computer. It says it needs help.
– Oh, so my computer talks to you?
-Yes. Are you at your computer?
– Oh, yes. (Well, in fact, I was on the toilet, but she doesn’t need to know ;))
– Well, then, I’ll talk you through how to get rid of the virus that your computer needs help with.
– Can you wait a moment, please? If my computer is infected, the whole department might be… I will connect you to our IT department.
– Umm, what?
– Just wait a minute. (I press a few buttons, so my phone will beep, wait for a moment, and then respond in a different accent and a brighter voice) Well, then. How may I help you?
– Umm, hi. I am calling about an infected computer in your network…
– Oh, great. Can you just wait for a moment? (I talk for a little while with a pretend colleague in Swedish.)
– So, where are you calling from?
– As I said, from the computer center…
– Yes, but where from? Where is your office?
– Ummm… Canada… ? (She says with a strong Indian accent.)
– Okay, our trace suggests that you are calling from India. So in about 30 minutes, the local police will knock on your door. Please let them how you know that one of our computers is infected. Thank you for calling the Swedish Police’s IT department. Have a nice day. 🙂
*Panic is heard at the other end before the call is cut off*
A good day’s work, I think 😛
A local newspaper caught up with Marie and asked her why she did this.
“The person wasn’t used to someone talking back. She seemed quite frustrated because I never let her talk. At first, I didn’t think it would lead anywhere. I mostly talked so the call would be more expensive for her. When I switched to Swedish and pretended to talk to the police, I heard shouting in the background and she hung up,” she said.
Do you think Marie did the right thing? Please share this so that more people will be inspired by her clever answers!