Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
impulse 7 effect
Jun 2, 2011

MightyJoe36 posted:

I find it ridiculous that people would actually believe that the "authorities" (IRS, FBI, Sheriff, etc.) would want you to pay your fine with an iTunes gift card.

On second thought, it's ridiculous that people believe a Nigerian official is going to give them $10 million but it happens all the time.

It's been highlighted before by previous posters that there is a useful sift for gullible/vulnerable people in just how poorly the initial approach is put together.

That said, a couple of friends have reported receiving posted letters from SE Asia from law firms acting as will executors. Going for the 'customs/processing tax/fee' by western union approach. Nice letterhead paper. Some attempts at targeting elderly people. Not nice :(

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

maskenfreiheit
Dec 30, 2004

impulse 7 effect posted:

So what was your favorite part of defcon, this year?

defcon was cancelled sadly - the pool was nice though!

impulse 7 effect
Jun 2, 2011

maskenfreiheit posted:

defcon was cancelled sadly - the pool was nice though!

I heard it was all about the balcony. Hopefully it's on next year; stay safe!

Stick Insect
Oct 24, 2010

My enemies are many.

My equals are none.

impulse 7 effect posted:

It's been highlighted before by previous posters that there is a useful sift for gullible/vulnerable people in just how poorly the initial approach is put together.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/why-do-nigerian-scammers-say-they-are-from-nigeria/

many johnnys
May 17, 2015

MightyJoe36 posted:

I find it ridiculous that people would actually believe that the "authorities" (IRS, FBI, Sheriff, etc.) would want you to pay your fine with an iTunes gift card.

On second thought, it's ridiculous that people believe a Nigerian official is going to give them $10 million but it happens all the time.

Lmao seriously. I'm afraid you're in debt to the IRS, and the only way to avoid jail is to give us five boxes of Pokemon cards. We also accept Garbage Pail Kids.

BiggerBoat
Sep 26, 2007

Don't you tell me my business again.
Comcast cable box update.

I returned the remaining equipment I had but, stunningly, they had no record of me even attempting to cancel my TV and phone services and gave me a direct number to call to do it AGAIN, so the month delay for the last box I kept had nothing to do with anything. My bill WAS lower, because of the poo poo I had returned right away, but, as I suspected, they basically just left the service on because they could and I had no way to prove I had called so they billed me for it.

The dude at Xfinity store straight up told me that the delay in the equipment return had no bearing on anything and gave me the REAL number to call for cancellation so gently caress all you people that tried to hang this horseshit on me.

Tunicate
May 15, 2012

BiggerBoat posted:

Comcast cable box update.

I returned the remaining equipment I had but, stunningly, they had no record of me even attempting to cancel my TV and phone services and gave me a direct number to call to do it AGAIN, so the month delay for the last box I kept had nothing to do with anything. My bill WAS lower, because of the poo poo I had returned right away, but, as I suspected, they basically just left the service on because they could and I had no way to prove I had called so they billed me for it.

The dude at Xfinity store straight up told me that the delay in the equipment return had no bearing on anything and gave me the REAL number to call for cancellation so gently caress all you people that tried to hang this horseshit on me.

This is why you record your calls to corporations

Midjack
Dec 24, 2007



BiggerBoat posted:

Comcast cable box update.

I returned the remaining equipment I had but, stunningly, they had no record of me even attempting to cancel my TV and phone services and gave me a direct number to call to do it AGAIN, so the month delay for the last box I kept had nothing to do with anything. My bill WAS lower, because of the poo poo I had returned right away, but, as I suspected, they basically just left the service on because they could and I had no way to prove I had called so they billed me for it.

The dude at Xfinity store straight up told me that the delay in the equipment return had no bearing on anything and gave me the REAL number to call for cancellation so gently caress all you people that tried to hang this horseshit on me.

Glad to help!

Raldikuk
Apr 7, 2006

I'm bad with money and I want that meatball!

BiggerBoat posted:

Comcast cable box update.

I returned the remaining equipment I had but, stunningly, they had no record of me even attempting to cancel my TV and phone services and gave me a direct number to call to do it AGAIN, so the month delay for the last box I kept had nothing to do with anything. My bill WAS lower, because of the poo poo I had returned right away, but, as I suspected, they basically just left the service on because they could and I had no way to prove I had called so they billed me for it.

The dude at Xfinity store straight up told me that the delay in the equipment return had no bearing on anything and gave me the REAL number to call for cancellation so gently caress all you people that tried to hang this horseshit on me.

Except that when you call and try to argue thst you did cancel they'll tell you to pound sand because you were using the cable as they can tell on their network since you had your poo poo plugged in. Exactly like people said. No one said it was contingent on it except that if they screwed you and didn't actually cancel that you would have no evidence of it.

I wish you well and hope Comcast doesn't try to charge you for another month but you're entering the situation everyone warned you about and you're bragging that you were right all along because now you have the REAL cancellation number.

Yngwie Mangosteen
Aug 23, 2007

BiggerBoat posted:

Comcast cable box update.

I returned the remaining equipment I had but, stunningly, they had no record of me even attempting to cancel my TV and phone services and gave me a direct number to call to do it AGAIN, so the month delay for the last box I kept had nothing to do with anything. My bill WAS lower, because of the poo poo I had returned right away, but, as I suspected, they basically just left the service on because they could and I had no way to prove I had called so they billed me for it.

The dude at Xfinity store straight up told me that the delay in the equipment return had no bearing on anything and gave me the REAL number to call for cancellation so gently caress all you people that tried to hang this horseshit on me.

You had equipment out, that they could tell you were using.

It's a huge mystery why it didn't get canceled the first time!

Lutha Mahtin
Oct 10, 2010

Your brokebrain sin is absolved...go and shitpost no more!

BiggerBoat posted:

gently caress all you people that tried to hang this horseshit on me.

some of the people who initially responded to you may have phrased their posts in goony critical ways, but imo it's a bad look to flip the bird at and claim persecution from the people who were trying to look out for you. we just wanted to try and prevent someone from going through comcast hell, because we've all been through it and it sucks. i hope you get it figured out

Krotera
Jun 16, 2013

I AM INTO MATHEMATICAL CALCULATIONS AND MANY METHODS USED IN THE STOCK MARKET

BiggerBoat posted:

Comcast cable box update.

I returned the remaining equipment I had but, stunningly, they had no record of me even attempting to cancel my TV and phone services and gave me a direct number to call to do it AGAIN, so the month delay for the last box I kept had nothing to do with anything. My bill WAS lower, because of the poo poo I had returned right away, but, as I suspected, they basically just left the service on because they could and I had no way to prove I had called so they billed me for it.

The dude at Xfinity store straight up told me that the delay in the equipment return had no bearing on anything and gave me the REAL number to call for cancellation so gently caress all you people that tried to hang this horseshit on me.

It sounds like they already successfully cheated you once: the whole "gently caress everyone who doubted me, I'm going to get my money for real" routine is totally repeat victim 101, so I guess don't jinx yourself?

You're believing the Comcast sales rep when a Comcast sales rep lying to you is why you're still in this mess to begin with. I would consult third-parties online who have been in this situation.

goatsestretchgoals
Jun 4, 2011

I said it once and I will say it again: unhook all of your Comcast gear. In fact, to be safe, go and make sure nothing is attached to any coax outlet in your home. If they do try to pull the fake cancel poo poo again, you will at least have a leg to stand on.

Also call billing and ask about the status of your account. Don't ask if you're cancelled, ask for the status.

E: We need a Poe's Law emote but IDK how to draw it.

goatsestretchgoals fucked around with this message at 02:26 on Aug 12, 2017

Absurd Alhazred
Mar 27, 2010

by Athanatos

goatsestretchgoals posted:

I said it once and I will say it again: unhook all of your Comcast gear. In fact, to be safe, go and make sure nothing is attached to any coax outlet in your home. If they do try to pull the fake cancel poo poo again, you will at least have a leg to stand on.

Also call billing and ask about the status of your account. Don't ask if you're cancelled, ask for the status.

E: We need a Poe's Law emote but IDK how to draw it.

The Goon Down the Well. The Other Goons Peeing on Him.

Yngwie Mangosteen
Aug 23, 2007
I do love the constant goon cycle of

1. Post about issue
2. Willfully and angrily ignore all advice
3. Even more angrily report that issue is not over
4. Get even more double extra mad that people point to earlier advice while declaring that it wasn't valid for 'reasons' (despite all evidence it would have worked)

HerStuddMuffin
Aug 10, 2014

YOSPOS
If you have a mailing address for your cable provider, write them a cancellation letter and send it certified. It doesn't have to be fancy, but cancellation by phone is a crapshoot with, and only with for some reason, cable companies. The few bucks you pay for the certified mail more than justifies not having to deal with those assholes over the phone, or paying for the extra months of service while they slowly decide to finally cancel your service.

Proteus Jones
Feb 28, 2013



Raldikuk posted:

Except that when you call and try to argue thst you did cancel they'll tell you to pound sand because you were using the cable as they can tell on their network since you had your poo poo plugged in. Exactly like people said. No one said it was contingent on it except that if they screwed you and didn't actually cancel that you would have no evidence of it.

I wish you well and hope Comcast doesn't try to charge you for another month but you're entering the situation everyone warned you about and you're bragging that you were right all along because now you have the REAL cancellation number.

He's got to be trolling.

I refuse to believe anyone is that loving stupid.

maskenfreiheit
Dec 30, 2004

HerStuddMuffin posted:

If you have a mailing address for your cable provider, write them a cancellation letter and send it certified. It doesn't have to be fancy, but cancellation by phone is a crapshoot with, and only with for some reason, cable companies. The few bucks you pay for the certified mail more than justifies not having to deal with those assholes over the phone, or paying for the extra months of service while they slowly decide to finally cancel your service.

I mean, usually what you do is cancel via phone, then return the equipment.

The lifehack is to return the equipment at a physical office and get a receipt. If they keep billing you don't even bother with them - call your credit card company, offer to send a scan of the receipt, and report the charges as fraudulent.

Fil5000
Jun 23, 2003

HOLD ON GUYS I'M POSTING ABOUT INTERNET ROBOTS

maskenfreiheit posted:

I mean, usually what you do is cancel via phone, then return the equipment.

The lifehack is to return the equipment at a physical office and get a receipt. If they keep billing you don't even bother with them - call your credit card company, offer to send a scan of the receipt, and report the charges as fraudulent.

That's not a lifehack as it makes sense and makes your life better. A lifehack would be to call and cancel, then reroute the cable to your neighbour and give him the equipment so now he gets free cable (and then you get billed every month for the service that is now his)

Midjack
Dec 24, 2007



Fil5000 posted:

That's not a lifehack as it makes sense and makes your life better. A lifehack would be to call and cancel, then reroute the cable to your neighbour and give him the equipment so now he gets free cable (and then you get billed every month for the service that is now his)

I'd like to see the flowchart of thoughts that led to you believing this was worth posting.

sweart gliwere
Jul 5, 2005

better to die an evil wizard,
than to live as a grand one.
Pillbug

Midjack posted:

I'd like to see the flowchart of thoughts that led to you believing this was worth posting.

Insurance fraud (false equipment theft report), a firmware flash and case change (do cable boxes have chassis intrusion switches?), then monthly neighborly equipment swaps until the end of time cable co gets their act together. It'd be kind of a funny if high-effort workaround for old folks.

That gets me wondering, how many cable boxes and remote displays could you serve to a cul-de-sac from one house's cable or satellite subscription via WiFi?


edit: thread-relevant because of course it would carry penalties steep enough to make it a self inflicted con

sweart gliwere fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Aug 12, 2017

Pharmaskittle
Dec 17, 2007

arf arf put the money in the fuckin bag

He's just joking that "life hacks" are usually dumb. That's it, that's all there is to it

goatsestretchgoals
Jun 4, 2011

None for Comcast at least. Every box that hooks up has a unique identifier of some kind, which is then provisioned onto an account. Anecdote only but the night I moved across town to ~my girlfriend~'s house (same billing area), I still had internet at my old place and she only had cable TV. I hooked my modem up and...the internet worked. I wasn't a Comcast engineer (lol call center hell), but I suspect everything is based on 'this device is attached to this account' and geography doesn't matter inside the billing area (which is usually a large city + suburbs).

sweart gliwere
Jul 5, 2005

better to die an evil wizard,
than to live as a grand one.
Pillbug

Pharmaskittle posted:

He's just joking that "life hacks" are usually dumb. That's it, that's all there is to it

PYF life hacks: throw your cable box through your neighbor's widow like a animal, you piece of poo poo

EL BROMANCE
Jun 10, 2006

COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬



Yeah I was super happy when I plugged my splitter into the random coax wire in my new place and got my TV and internet connection without issue at all. Insanely smooth.

Not so smooth? Canceling the appointment from Comcast for their engineer to come and do it, as their system insisted I needed to book one but then showed no trace of it afterwards.

Comcast services are good until something goes wrong, then uggggggh. At least we have a local store near us who usually resolve stuff without issue.

Absurd Alhazred
Mar 27, 2010

by Athanatos
Oh, boy, what a totally legit email!

Only registered members can see post attachments!

greazeball
Feb 4, 2003



Absurd Alhazred posted:

Oh, boy, what a totally legit email!



Is she still using her Yahoo account? Or is she using the University of Missouri again?

Absurd Alhazred
Mar 27, 2010

by Athanatos

greazeball posted:

Is she still using her Yahoo account? Or is she using the University of Missouri again?

Neither: a .com.tr address, adding further legitimacy to an email ostensibly from a D.C.-housed organization.

Lutha Mahtin
Oct 10, 2010

Your brokebrain sin is absolved...go and shitpost no more!

Absurd Alhazred posted:

Oh, boy, what a totally legit email!



so its a scam either way, AM I RIGHT FOLKS??

Fil5000
Jun 23, 2003

HOLD ON GUYS I'M POSTING ABOUT INTERNET ROBOTS

Pharmaskittle posted:

He's just joking that "life hacks" are usually dumb. That's it, that's all there is to it

I mean yeah, I thought that was the whole point of the thread.

Edit: haha, I'm a loving moron and thought I was posting in the lifehacks thread.

Fil5000 fucked around with this message at 08:38 on Aug 14, 2017

MightyJoe36
Dec 29, 2013

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:

Proteus Jones posted:

I refuse to believe anyone is that loving stupid.

See my post above about people getting scammed into paying "fines" to the IRS with iTunes gift cards. ;)

Absurd Alhazred
Mar 27, 2010

by Athanatos
I just got a call earlier today about a "final warning" from the IRS and telling me to call some number.

Corsair Pool Boy
Dec 17, 2004
College Slice

Absurd Alhazred posted:

I just got a call earlier today about a "final warning" from the IRS and telling me to call some number.

Well, it was good knowing you. If you get to browse comedy internet websites in prison, let us know where you are!

HerStuddMuffin
Aug 10, 2014

YOSPOS
Oh I know where they're at. Send me some iTunes gift cards so I can post their bail.

republicant
Apr 5, 2010
There's a class action lawsuit against the people responsible for a ton of "free cruise" robocalls, and if your phone number is listed in the call records you can be eligible to receive $300 per call up to 3 calls.

https://www.rmgtcpasettlement.com/Home.aspx

(Website has been swamped all day today but seems to be working now.)

EL BROMANCE
Jun 10, 2006

COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬



That's a pretty good way of collecting a list of phone numbers of people who answer unsolicited phone calls.

maskenfreiheit
Dec 30, 2004

republicant posted:

There's a class action lawsuit against the people responsible for a ton of "free cruise" robocalls, and if your phone number is listed in the call records you can be eligible to receive $300 per call up to 3 calls.

https://www.rmgtcpasettlement.com/Home.aspx

(Website has been swamped all day today but seems to be working now.)

I've had the same cell number for a decade and a half but somehow these scammers didn't manage to call me?! LAME

SEKCobra
Feb 28, 2011

Hi
:saddowns: Don't look at my site :saddowns:

maskenfreiheit posted:

I've had the same cell number for a decade and a half but somehow these scammers didn't manage to call me?! LAME

Don't worry, they'll call you now that they know you think you get 900 $ for being called ;)

metallicaeg
Nov 28, 2005

Evil Red Wings Owner Wario Lemieux Steals Stanley Cup
I've enjoyed reading the first half or so of this thread. Here are my experiences:

My brother got hit hard with the box of junk speakers in the trunk. I don't consider my brother a dumb person. Chalked it up to him running into a great salesperson and my brother at the time was actually wanting to buy speakers. It's too bad that the $300 in cash only, or the fact that a guy was selling a box of speakers out of the trunk of a car in a grocery store parking lot, weren't large enough red flags for him to realize he was being scammed. I think they're probably still sitting in box in my parents basement.

My grandmother was scammed for some money but was thankfully caught by my uncle before it got even worse. Someone called with the "your grandson is in jail and you need to write a check for bail money" line. Had sent one check out for some absurd sum that I can't recall, and I think she was ready to send another after a second call until my uncle saw what was going on from a bank statement.

On a cruise earlier this year my girlfriend bought two fake "Cuban" cigars that were >$20 each.

I myself had ended up signing a three year contract with a PA power reseller and it wasn't until after it was already done and over with did I realize I had signed something that was essentially going to make me pay about 30% more for electricity. At least that was easy enough to cancel with them the next day.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

maskenfreiheit
Dec 30, 2004

SEKCobra posted:

Don't worry, they'll call you now that they know you think you get 900 $ for being called ;)

more like a check for 2.19 after they have too many claims and the lawyers took a couple mil each AMIRITE

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply