Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Never Say ‘Yes’ to Strangers and Other Scam Hacks
“Hello, this is Leila. Can you hear me alright?” the bright and cheery voice on the other end of the phone started the conversation.
“I can,” I replied.
There was a click on the other end.
“Hello? Are you still there?” I asked. Nothing.
Had she been expecting a different voice? Or had she been hoping I would say, “Yes.” I have heard about cons where someone calls one up and gets one to say, “Yes,” and then the perpetrator will ship something out and say they had recorded authorization to do so, and present a recording with a different question and one’s “Yes” to the scam question. I have no idea if it is true. On the other hand, I am very careful what I say on phones so that something like that can’t happen.
Have you heard about other scams, telephone or otherwise? Is there an easy way to avoid the scam?
Published in Culture
And usenet is a worse sewer than Twitter. Sigh.
What if they only give positive 3 as an answer?
Whether on the phone or in person, I don’t let a sales person get me into a conversation where I start affirming things or express wishes or preferences, not even about the weather. There’s a psychology to it, and I don’t play along. Exceptions are when I know ahead of time there is something I want that s/he might be able to provide. But I’m more in control of the conversation on those.
I don’t like scammers, but I don’t mind phone solicitors. I have a policy of never buying anything in response to “push” advertising, either on the phone or at the door. But I figure phone solicitors are people trying to earn a living at an unpleasant job, and that’s okay.
I always interrupt them and ask if they’re paid by the call or by the sale. I explain that I’m not going to buy anything, but that they can talk as long as they like if that’s good for them. Then I’ll ask them about where they’re located, what the weather is like, if they enjoy their work, etc. And remind them, periodically, that I’m going to say no no matter what they’re selling.
Actually, I kind of enjoy it. I guess don’t have a lot of friends.
We let all calls go to voicemail unless we recognize the number or the caller ID says it’s someone we know. I can’t tell you how many times “out of area” shows up on the ID . . .
But you’re very kind. I always feel slightly guilty when I’m short with phone solicitors. As you say, most of them are simply trying to earn an honest living.
I like it, too. I started using it today. Unfortunately the person answered the question, which I wasn’t expecting, and I didn’t know what to do.
After I finished talking to the person (glad I did! because I found I am coming into quite a bit of money from a relative I don’t even remember!), I called a friend who is a mathematician, and found out the answer is “three”.
I suggest everyone do what I plan to do. I am going to write the correct answer on a paper, and keep it on the bed beside me with the ashtray on top of it to keep it in place. I am going to wear a battery-powered LED head-lamp, in case I get a call after dark. Because the paper could be ignited by a stray ash if I fall asleep with a cigarette still burning, I have also taken the precaution of keeping a fresh fire extinguisher nearby. The answer won’t do you any good if it is charred beyond legibility! To me that’s just common sense, but, “a word to the wise”, as they say.
I’m working on a YouTube video that hopefully will make all of this clearer.
A. Your math friend is incorrect: the square root of nine is not nine.
B. I used this technique just today. I asked “what’s the square root of nine” and the “person” who called answered “three.” I laughed and hung up. Dummy.
C. The square root of nine is negative three.
A square root (for a positive number) could be either positive or negative. But not a cube root.
I just now checked back. Turns out you were right, he was just joking with me. I am always making fun of mathematicians for being dumb, and he gives it right back to me by poking fun at part-time hardware store clerks.
I fixed the error.
[TAGS: Why We Should Always Check our Posts, Especially if they are Over-reaching Attempts at Humor. Henry Racette will catch them every time.]
Actually, I’m no longer certain that negative three is even a valid square root for nine. I now suspect that the mysterious i is somehow involved, and that the answer is vastly more complex than original thought.
It is entirely possible that no one actually knows the square root of nine. Mathematicians are notorious for the hubris.
[ third time Ricochet has double-posted my comment in the past few days, and I now suspect that I might have an un-debounced mouse button ]
It’s been a long time, but as I recall, i is only involved with square roots etc of negative numbers. i represents the square root of -1, or something like that.
It might be best to say that 3 is A square root of 9, but not THE (only) square root of 9.
3 x 3 = 9.
-3 x -3 = 9 also.
The thing is, even a relatively-smart phone solicitor may not figure out or understand that -3 also works. But mostly, if you get any kind of sentient response at all, odds are you’re dealing with a person, not a puter.
If you are asked “can you hear me okay?” and you ask “what is the square root of 9” and you get “huh?” that’s a person.
If you get “that’s great, I hear you fine too!” that’s a puter.
I never feel the slightest guilt about a firm but civil end to the solicitation calls, because I didn’t ask to be called, so there. Won’t waste my time.
KE, you have convinced me that the proposed math challenge is simply too easy. I suggest people use this one:
“Perform the following:
Now, are there any positive integral values for N for which the process, when repeated, does not eventually reach one?”
If the caller says “yes,” insist that they give you that number. Test the number (but see note below) and, if they’re correct, win the Fields Medal or similar for solving one of the most deceptively intractable problems in all of mathematics. If the caller says anything else, assume they’re a machine and hang up.
The answer will contain at least a few hundred digits, as we know that no number smaller than 2^68 will pass it. Also, one of the two tests for correctness will take an infinite amount of time, so be prepared to wait.
I don’t get many telemarketing calls from MIT.
But on the other hand, you could just say “call me back when you have the answer.”
Or if you ask for the square root of 9, and they say 3, you say “aha! that was a trick question! there is no THE square root of 9!”
>30 years ago, when I lived in Oregon, I got a call from some kids asking ‘Is your refrigerator running?” I answered “Yes but I’m faster so I let it get a head start.” They laughed and we had a nice chat for a few minutes.
I got all the ay to the end of your comment but I forgot the question. Was it what’s 6 9s?
All my family knows the secret answer to What’s the cube root of eighteen? is “negative three”. All others are imposters.
I guess that’s sufficient for your purposes.
My wife says she asks “What’s the cube root of -0?’ That’s got me stumped.
Zero is actually neither positive nor negative. By definition.
Another cell phone trick: click “messages” on your lock screen and then select one of the standard responses (like “I’m in a meeting. Please leave a message.”Or, “I’m in the can. Might be here awhile. Leave a detailed message that is entertaining and informative.”) If the number is bogus you’ll immediately get a text message response to the effect it was unable to execute your message because the number was incorrect.
Or if I’m mildly bored and recognize a scam, I answer in a sort of pidgin German: “Iss das nicht eine banken frau?” (roughly…Is that not a fat woman?)
@She You might want to look into Starlink. They are still in beta but likely to open to public shortly. Sounds like you’re exactly the kind of household they are looking to serve, and it should be a lot better than existing satellite Internet systems.
Oh, and I don’t think anyone should ever use “internet phone” or satellite internet phone service, etc. That can leave you with no phone service just when you might need it most.
Even if your local wired telephone service doesn’t have any internet capability, it’s still smart to have a wired phone service.
That’s what stumped me.
duplicate
Division by zero is easy. Just misunderstood.
Depends how you look at it. You could say that the answer “approaches infinity” but zero is like darkness. Darkness is not a “state,” it’s the absence of light. Similarly, zero is not “a number,” it is the ABSENCE of any number. So you can’t divide something by nothing.
In engineering terms there is a “negative zero” in ones-complement binary, but functionally it’s the same as “regular” zero.
There could be more than one test. But one of them will definitely take more time even than cold-calling scum have on hand.