The Very-Many-Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread ΛΕ

[MaryKB]

You're very wise you check though! Criminals will also do something similar, but you'd see it as something looking really weird, like a hotel in bangladesh for $2 or something. They've got thousands of card numbers and they're "probing" you before trying to make big purchases.

 

[Snerk]

You're very wise you check though! Criminals will also do something similar, but you'd see it as something looking really weird, like a hotel in bangladesh for $2 or something. They've got thousands of card numbers and they're "probing" you before trying to make big purchases.

I'm running a similar scheme on Takhisis. I charge him 0.3€ for "misc goods and services" each time he opens a jar of jam. The return is so-so but I'm in it for the long run.

 

[Samson]

You're very wise you check though! Criminals will also do something similar, but you'd see it as something looking really weird, like a hotel in bangladesh for $2 or something. They've got thousands of card numbers and they're "probing" you before trying to make big purchases.

I have heard people say this, but I have always wondered why not just make the big purchase? Putting an odd payment on before gives you a chance to stop your card, so they must be missing out on some deals that go through.

I got a call from my card issuer the other month, someone had bought 2 small (£10) amounts of phone credit. The 1st went through (and later cancelled) and the second was declined and they phoned me. If the 1st use had been the big mark, say a car, it may well have gone through, I do sometimes buy cars (<£1000) on my card.

 

[MaryKB]

You'll see them do that because that person's playing a numbers game. He has like literally hundreds of card numbers, and he's not going to go with his whole stack to make a big purchase, that looks extremely suspicious. Imagine if you're selling computers or something, and some person comes to you and wants to buy something like 10 Ipads, and he gives you card after card after card to try, you're really going to think something's strange. So he wants to know which maybe 10 cards or so he has are active and his information's correct, and once he gets those authorizations he's hoping he can try using your card for his full purchase before your bank notices (chances are your bank will find it well before you do). And his charge might literally come minutes after his probe on your card comes back valid.

 

[shadowplay]

Just give them a thumbs-up.

Thumbs up if it's good, middle finger if it's bad.

 

[Takhisis]

I'm running a similar scheme on Takhisis. I charge him 0.3€ for "misc goods and services" each time he opens a jar of jam. The return is so-so but I'm in it for the long run.

Since we've already established that marmalade is not the same as jam I think I know why the return is so-so.

 

[Snerk]

Since we've already established that marmalade is not the same as jam I think I know why the return is so-so.

Twarted by marmalade, yet again.

 

[Arakhor]

That was a bit of a sticky situation, wasn't it?

 

[Takhisis]

That was a bit of a sticky situation, wasn't it?

It… <pulls on sunglasses> was.
YEAAAHHHHH!

 

[Broken_Erika]

Sounds unBearable!

 

[BenitoChavez]

I keep getting these spam text messages on my phone along the lines of "Dustin, your Walgreen's gift card is ready to be setup. <#Some Link#>. Reply STOP to stop".

1) What is the best way to get rid of these texts? My phone has an option to block certain numbers but these texts often have different numbers so it isn't a great solution.
2) I'm guessing that replying "STOP" is a bad idea, but I'm curious about what would happen if I did do it. Would all the info on my phone be sent to the people sending these texts? Would they actually stop?
3) My name isn't Dustin, yet all these texts keep using that name. Is it possible somewhere out there some dude randomly picked my number when he signs up for a service from a company but doesn't want them contacting him?

 

[MaryKB]

Sometimes people totally enter fake numbers on websites, and if they're shady there's really not much you can do sadly. I'd definitely not recommend responding, because you're only verifying your number is valid and everything. I get those all time unfortunately, and it's like always a different number. I just don't respond and hope they'll give up eventually.

 

[Takhisis]

I keep getting these spam text messages on my phone along the lines of "Dustin, your Walgreen's gift card is ready to be setup. <#Some Link#>. Reply STOP to stop".

1) What is the best way to get rid of these texts? My phone has an option to block certain numbers but these texts often have different numbers so it isn't a great solution.
2) I'm guessing that replying "STOP" is a bad idea, but I'm curious about what would happen if I did do it. Would all the info on my phone be sent to the people sending these texts? Would they actually stop?
3) My name isn't Dustin, yet all these texts keep using that name. Is it possible somewhere out there some dude randomly picked my number when he signs up for a service from a company but doesn't want them contacting him?

1) Keep blocking them. Never reply. If you have the time go and see your cellphone carriers in person and explain the problem (I know, it's a pain: the last time I ever had to deal with a cellphone carrier I had to stay in after closing hours because they were trying to deter me from closing my account so that they could charge me for the following month, which was about to start - never again a cellphone except for work)
2) Don't reply.
3) Possibly! It's perfectly valid as long as the software accepts it, just as it is to use a fake email address made by pasting together a common first name and/or surname plus a commonplace email service, or to copy an installation disc for a videogame and type in a random password.


Did I say you shouldn't ever reply?

 

[Mouthwash]

Today's Better Call Saul episode featured another phone number (505-186-1945), but calling it gave me no response. Could someone in the Western Hemisphere try?

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I know this is location specific, but in general, do towns have regulations on when .you can use lawn maintenance machines?

There is a commercial building across the street and two times a week a guy shows up around 5am to run a leaf blower through the parking lot.

 

[Arakhor]

Today's Better Call Saul episode featured another phone number (505-186-1945), but calling it gave me no response. Could someone in the Western Hemisphere try?

That is almost certainly one of many 'reserved numbers', which are numbers held over by the phone companies to allow the media to feature phone numbers without inconveniencing some poor fool who actually owns that number.​

 

[warpus]

Did that show insert easter egg phone numbers that lead somewhere before? If not, why would you think it would?

 

[Gori the Grey]

It's rare (though not unheard of) to have the prefix start with a one.

 

[Synobun]

It's rare (though not unheard of) to have the prefix start with a one.

That's the calling code for the US and Canada. MW's would be 1-505-186-1945 but he would need to add his exit code at the beginning, which is dependent on his carrier.

https://www.howtocallabroad.com/results.php?callfrom=israel&callto=united_states

So it could end up being that for MW's attempt to work it'd need to be 0181-505-186-1945, and that's assuming the production of Better Call Saul went through the effort to set up an easter egg number. Chances are it's just dead.

 

[Mouthwash]

Did that show insert easter egg phone numbers that lead somewhere before? If not, why would you think it would?

It did.