Angry programmer sends army of bots after Windows Support scammers

One angry programmer has declared war on all Windows Support scammers – and now he wants to send a massive army of bots to shut down every fake support line around the globe.

If you’re not familiar with the infamous Tech Support scam, the scenario tends to follow the same path. You receive an alarming call insisting your computer has been infected by a virus. The number is unknown, but the caller claims to work for Microsoft, Google or another big tech firm – and they have a quick “fix” to your “problem.”

Instead of offering you a solution, however, the imposter proceeds to con you into installing malware that gives them access to your device and then allows them to swindle you out of a hefty amount of cash. But not for much longer.

Roger from The Jolly Roger Telephone Company has set out on a quest to disrupt the malicious telemarketing industry by inundating deceitful support lines with calls from a large network of bots, programmed to keep the scamming agents on the phone for as long as possible.

The 💜 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

To accomplish this, the anti-telemarketing company loaded a slew of bots with pre-recorded calls, which it then targeted to a list of support lines known to engage in malicious activities. And it seems the strategy is working.

To trick the scammers into believing there’s an actual human being on the other side of the phone, Jolly Roger has stocked the bots with a variety of responses.

One of his pre-recorded tracks, for instance, features a woman that gets into a fight with her daughter in the middle of the call. Meanwhile, the telemarketing agent stays on the line for another 40 seconds while the woman keeps babbling on, with the entire call lasting a little over six minutes.

Roger has released a few more examples of his telemarketing trolling efforts. Head to the Jolly Roger blog to listen to the rest of them.

While somewhat brilliant, Jolly Roger isn’t the only company devoted to scamming the scammers.

Not too long ago, someone made a similar robot called Lenny, which was designed to give cold-callers the impression they’re talking to a real person. In fact, there’s an entire YouTube channel dedicated to some of the best exchanges between Lenny and unsuspecting telemarketers.

In case you run into a malicious telemarketing line or any other phone-related scam, you can report the offenders to Jolly Roger at roger@jollyrogertelephone.com and he’ll put them through to some of his little helpers.