Have other readers received unsolicited calls from heavily accented voices claiming to be from the “Telstra technical department”? Your scribe gets them frequently. The voices claim to be aware of an unreported problem with your computer, and if you just do this and do that as instructed, all your problems will be fixed. Well, actually, no. If you go along with the voices, that’s when all your problems start.
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They are clever scammers who are after your bank account details so they can help themselves. Genuine Telstra technicians will not normally contact you, but if they ever need to, they will know your name and address without you telling them. Ask questions until you are satisfied. The same warning goes for official looking emails which are not addressed to you by name.
Some people have said the calls are so frequent they don’t like answering the phone any more.
There are other ways to handle them:
- pick up the phone but don’t say anything. If the call is computer generated by a scammer, it won’t respond and no-one will be there. If the call is from a friend, they will speak. Hang up.
- pick up the phone, say “Hello” and listen. If there is a longish pause, it is most likely a scammer who is busy manning several phones. Hang up. Friends will call back, a scammer won’t.
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A practice that your scribe uses when he has time and is feeling bored, is to accept the call and play along with them. It’s amazing how many imaginative faults you can dream up and surprising how long it takes them to wake up that you’re pulling their leg, and I reason that while they’re talking to me, it’s using up their time and they’re leaving someone else alone. I never turn my computer on when asked, and I don’t give out any of my personal or bank details. Not recommended for everyone, but a bit of fun to reverse the hunter/hunted roles.
If you do have a computer problem, young Josh at the CTC or Michael Roe are two who can usually help without you risking your device or losing your life savings.
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While would-be PM Dutton struggles under the accusations about a pair of au pairs, it was coincidental to see that the Donald has a different but not totally unrelated problem. Apparently Kim Kardashian, a person famous for nothing more than being famous, is at it again. Buoyed by her previous success in making private entreaties to get a convicted criminal a presidential pardon and released from prison, she now has another. No doubt this will be enacted in the full glare of the spotlights and the cameras – full transparency here. The Donald seems to have a weakness for people named “Kim.” What a way to run the country (and the justice system)!
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Except for the die-hard Liberal voters, the rest of the country owes the people of Wagga a great debt of gratitude for what happened in their recent by-election. The community disgust at the toppling of Turnbull was widespread but most of us had no way of expressing it. Wagga people did. Of course, the fact that their previous representative was forced to resign after corruption allegations also played a part, and deservedly so. No-one likes a corrupt politician, full stop.
Other state based factors were also present. The Liberals refused to agree to the Nationals running a candidate even though polling showed they might win. The Premier insisted on a female candidate but the one chosen came from Tumbarumba, not Wagga, so was little known to most, and she was not even a member of the Liberal Party. The Premier campaigned in Wagga several times during the lead-up, dispersing promises of over $100 million, but the good burghers of Wagga refused to be bribed. “Out!” they said. And out they’ve gone. One of the lessons here is that country folk tend to be a little cynical about citified politicians with a bargain you can’t afford to miss, steak knives or not.
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Political observers everywhere are now trying to work out what the Wagga result (which follows the Orange result) means for next year’s state election (due in March) and then the federal election (due by May). The Wentworth by-election on 20 October may give a better clue. This week’s dedication is meant to be more a sign of the times than a prediction, and is the Sam Cooke hit from 1964, “A Change is Gonna Come.” One must wait with bated breath.
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The newly elected Member for Wagga is an independent, Joe McGirr. There was a James McGirr who was NSW Premier from 1947 to 1952. Is there a connection or an interesting coincidence?
Feather Duster No 3
T Lobb
