At Business Insider, they have an article aboutA programmer came up with a hilarious way to shut down dangerous Windows scammers. The programmer runs Jolly Roger Telephone Company. So what does his process do? He talks to the telemarketers. Okay, he doesn’t personally do it. He has a army of “Lenny“-like programs that call and talk to them. Not just a few calls, but hundreds. In response, the scammers have to shut down the phone numbers that they have been promoting with robocalls, computer pop-ups, and other methods.
It took about 15-20 minutes to put them out of business, he said. “I completely annihilated them,” he said.
He’s making it very hard, or close to impossible, for victims to call in and get scammed.
Now, his tactic is a little different. He is attacking the telemarketers that require you call back them. Like the “your computer has a virus” scammers and the “IRS” scammers. I normally never return a telemarketer call, but given the telemarketer needs to be called to complete the scam, I can fully support this tactic.
Where does he get these numbers? People report them to him.
“I personally can put a stop to the Windows pop-up scam,” he told Business Insider. “You report a number to me. I’ve got tools.”
He knows he has to be careful. After all, he really doesn’t want to take down a legitimate business using tools like thePaystubs.net software. So vetting these numbers is going to be a part of the process. But once he validates the number, he can unleash his robo-army on them and shut then down.
The take-away on this? Talking to telemarketers/scammers (or having your computer talk to them) directly and negatively impacts them financially. If they are unable to talk with a potential victim because they are always talking to non-victims, they can’t make money. If they can’t make money, they will not be able to telemarketer or otherwise get money from their victims. Then our phones will stop getting unwanted telemarketing calls.
So, Jolly Roger Telephone Company– We salute you!
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