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We can beat the crooks

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Shoshino, Jan 18, 2011.

  1. Shoshino

    Shoshino Irritant Veteran

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    Remove all ads!
    I took a risk and bought a copy of windows 7 professional from a seller on Ebay, it cost me £100.
    The seller then contacted me to apologise for the delay in recieving it as it was coming from Hong Kong.... thats enough to make anyone suspicious.

    I recieved said copy of windows, which at a glance seemed real enough. However the licence stated "made in Puerto Rico - for distribution in US only"

    ok... now Ive seen that label on demo boxes before, the discs were proper hologram backed discs, the manual however seemed a little sketchy for my liking.
    I thought "what the hell, lets see if Im being overly suspicious" and installed it on a defunct hard drive, it worked, it installed and even verified as genuine microsoft software.... untill you tried to activate it, the licence was blocked.

    at this point I contacted the seller and demanded my money back, he swore that the copy was genuine and told me that when he recieved the product back he would refund my money..... yeah like Im that stupid. I told him I would take it further.
    I sent the product along with a witness statement and all correspondence to microsoft.... this was back in July.

    I had all but kissed my £100 goodbye.

    today I recieved a package..... special delivery, guarenteed by 1pm... I was expecting BFBC2 but I didnt pay for special delivery.
    I opened the package and a brand new copy of Windows 7 ultimate genuine advantage kit drops out.... enclosed with a letter from microsoft:

    :D
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2011
    Shoshino, Jan 18, 2011
    #1
  2. 8people

    8people 8 is just another way of looking at infinite ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran

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    [​IMG] Nice... Must admit I'm wondering who writes those letters though...
     
    8people, Jan 18, 2011
    #2
  3. Topken

    Topken Elven-dragon wizard

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    Letters are probly automated and then just spit out when they need a copy for osmething like that. glad to see you got something from your £100 tho
     
    Topken, Jan 18, 2011
    #3
  4. Cap'n CJ

    Cap'n CJ Arrr! Veteran

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    Wasn't expecting the story to end like that :)
     
    Cap'n CJ, Jan 18, 2011
    #4
  5. joacqin

    joacqin Confused Jerk Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    100£ seems like an awful lot of money for a windows 7 through e-bay. Isn't that what it tend to cost retail? As they say, if it is too good to be true it probably is and 100£ sure wasn't too good to be true. Smart scammer.
     
    joacqin, Jan 18, 2011
    #5

  6. The Great Snook Gems: 31/31
    Latest gem: Rogue Stone

     Adored Veteran

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    I admit, I was sure the letter was going to end that Microsoft was suing you because they "got everything wrong" and thought you were the pirate.
     
    The Great Snook, Jan 18, 2011
    #6
  7. Blades of Vanatar

    Blades of Vanatar Vanatar will rise again Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    "Alright children, what lesson did we learn today?............." :p
     
    Blades of Vanatar, Jan 18, 2011
    #7
  8. Gaear

    Gaear ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful

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    Cheers, Shoshino.

    Is a Windows 7 ultimate genuine advantage kit the full OS? Any time I hear "genuine (dis)advantage" I think of how Microsoft forced that download on my old XP laptop, made it uninstallable, and basically rendered the laptop useless through grotesquely extended boot times and bogged down operation. Presumably so Microsoft could enjoy the genuine advantage of knowing that my system was not pirated. :(
     
    Gaear, Jan 18, 2011
    #8
  9. Shoshino

    Shoshino Irritant Veteran

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    Yep, discs and all

    todays price £164.48
     
    Shoshino, Jan 19, 2011
    #9
  10. Marceror

    Marceror Chaos Shall Be Sown In Their Footsteps Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    Shosh, this is a great story. Kudos to you for acting on yor suspicions! And even better that you ended up getting a more advanced version of the operating sytem you wanted!

    Someone in their legal department, I'm sure. I bet that have a bunch of templates that have been previously created, and they just pick the most appropriate one and modify it as necessary.
     
    Marceror, Jan 19, 2011
    #10
  11. 8people

    8people 8 is just another way of looking at infinite ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran

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    [​IMG] I'd expect a legal department to have a firmer grip on grammar :p
     
    8people, Jan 19, 2011
    #11
  12. Blades of Vanatar

    Blades of Vanatar Vanatar will rise again Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    You'd be surprised on some of the stuff I come across in our legal group at work. I was going over a few blanket statements with a Customs Border Patrol officere when they were questioning some of our imports and I had to do a double take on more than one occassion. The mispelling and sentence structure completely changed the language of the Affidavit and put us in a bad spot. In our company Legal doesn't equal genius, it equals overpayed knucklehead...:D
     
    Blades of Vanatar, Jan 19, 2011
    #12
  13. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Hey, now wait a minute . . .
     
    dmc, Jan 19, 2011
    #13
  14. Blades of Vanatar

    Blades of Vanatar Vanatar will rise again Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    I said "In Our Company" DMC, not all lawyers, no worries. Some of you guys are ok. So don't go using your admin powers to get Tal to force me to make a refelx save. I'm not fire-resistant.
     
    Blades of Vanatar, Jan 19, 2011
    #14

  15. Munchkin Blender Gems: 22/31
    Latest gem: Sphene

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    Probably someone in marketing or their public relations departments as both have external contact with customers.
     
    Munchkin Blender, Jan 20, 2011
    #15

  16. koliva Gems: 2/31
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    Buy cheaper pirated copies of Windows, then send them to Microsoft to get a genuine copy for no extra cost :p.
     
    koliva, Jan 22, 2011
    #16
  17. Shoshino

    Shoshino Irritant Veteran

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    gotto wait 6 months for it though.
     
    Shoshino, Jan 22, 2011
    #17
  18. Marceror

    Marceror Chaos Shall Be Sown In Their Footsteps Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    You figure, for every criminal Microsoft is able to shut down, that's more money in Microsoft's pockets. Sending a single copy of their OS for each such lead, thereby incentivizing your average consumer to report such crimes, makes a lot of sense.
     
    Marceror, Jan 23, 2011
    #18
  19. NOG (No Other Gods)

    NOG (No Other Gods) Going to church doesn't make you a Christian

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    Yeah, but a lot of companies would only send a 'Thank you, hope you get your money back' statement.
     
    NOG (No Other Gods), Jan 23, 2011
    #19
  20. Shoshino

    Shoshino Irritant Veteran

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    It appears to be a service microsoft offer, the box has:

    Written on the top
     
    Shoshino, Jan 23, 2011
    #20
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