No doubt you will have heard of spam, phishing, viruses and trojans by now. After all they are constantly a threat to our security and it is the main reason why we have firewalls and anti-viruses on our computers. Threats are not entirely computer based though you may be also subject to telephone calls from people pretending to be from your ISP or even from Microsoft themselves! Be aware of the scammer!
My first encounter was back in March when I got a phone call from a confused neighbour who asked me to have a look at her computer because someone had telephoned her saying that she had an error on it. She was asked to switch on her computer and was directed to the logs where of course there was a little red warning sign. They went on to tell her that the error would wipe her hard disk and render her computer utter useless unless she was to go to this website. The website was LogMeIn which of course is a reputable remote desktop company. It wasn’t until they asked her for a fee for them to fix her computer that the alarm bells started ringing. She immediately said that she wasn’t going to pay for anything and she took their phone number and got in contact with me.
I also received a call in August from an asian guy claiming that he was from my ISP and that Microsoft had got in touch with them to tell me that there were errors on my computer. I went along with it just to find out what they had to say after all I run Linux. This time they directed me to a different website to download ammyy which is legitimate remote desktop software. When it come to the payment I just said no and he said well you don’t want me to fix your computer then I said no. Eventually he told me t F*ck off and hung up.
The point in this post is to simply get the message across that if you receive any phone calls saying that they are from your ISP or Microsoft then do not entertain them. Never ever give your credit card details out to anyone that contacts you, even if they say ‘Can you confirm the credit card number that we have on file for you?‘ Once they have got your credit card details then they will of course start defrauding you.
On another note there is a company that keeps phoning us saying that they are from sky and that our warranty has expired and it will cost £65+ for the year. When questioned they could not tell us that they were officially calling from sky, which could only mean one thing. This company is not official endorsed by sky and they are using sky’s good name to sell you a warranty package. Whether or not the company is official it is still using the sky branding to illegally sell it’s products. Be aware!
Have you ever received a phone call from a scammer or have you ever been fooled by one? Have you had any other so called company that has contacted you trying to extract information? Please feel free to comment.
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Glad to see this is already here about the phone scam. I receive 2 or three a week from Indian/Pakistan sounding people making out to be from windows. They are very direct and get to the point saying “There are errors on your computer, go to your computer and hit this key sequesnce followed by that followed by another. (Im not saying what the sequence is) but then they want you to read what is on your screen after that sequence. If you do as they ask they will then be able to watch your computer LIVE and watch your keystrokes including passwords etc. BE very aware, we polite British seem to do as we are asked when they address us by our names and they get the names from the phone book.
You cannot deter them, Ive been rude, offensive polite and reasoning…they always ring back afdter a few days. But if you ask them a question they cannot answer it. Such as “when was the last error that you recorded on my computer?” the reply will be…Im sorry I dont understand”? and thats because their understanding of the english language is poor.
If you dont understand computers you may be tempted to do as you are instructed…but I ask you this…if a stranger rang you and asked for your pin and card number along with the security code on the back…would you give it to them? because thats exactly what they will get from you if you answer their questions.
If I am not busy and have some time to waste I keep them on the phone for as long as I can, my theory being that if they are talking to me then they are not harming anyone else. The longest I have managed to keep them dangling on a string is 4 hours 3 mins..I timed it. I acted like a doddery old person and kept saying my computer keeps switching off, hold on Ill start it up again but I must sweep my computer first with mcafee virus checker, then I would put the phone down and get on with what I was doing..on that occasion it was playing an online war game.He he he eventually a voice told me where to go using two words which describe sex and travel.
So please please if you get a call, waste their time and keep them hanging on..this is the best weapon we have to combat them…but never ever tell them anything about you or your details.
If you think you have a problem go to some high street company or someone that is local and trustworthy. I cant believe ANYONE would fall for this very poor scam but someone must do or they would have given up ages ago.
I am glad that you didn’t fall for the scam. I have had a couple of calls since but as you do I just waste their time. I ask them questions like ‘What operating system am I using then?’ They of course say ‘Sorry I do not understand’ I asked the last caller to hold the line and left them there for 10 minutes, they eventually hung up. I tend to waste time with anyone that has poor English regardless of what they are trying to sell or defraud me.
Another scam to be aware of if you participate in any market research and they ask you ‘if you have ever donated to charity or would you in future’ I answered yes to this as I had donated in the past. For the next year I had every charity known to man phone me to ask for donations. I still get the odd one now. Now I don’t participate in any market research. A lesson learnt the hardest way.
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