Beware of dodgy phone calls

I think they are based in inda or around that area, they phone up and say you have a virus on your pc and they want to access to your pc which then they will download a real virus to your pc...

> they try to get my mum twice now so i phone up my internet provider which said they are getting more and more of these report and dont let them get into your pc or your in trouble.

They're shocking......

I just tell them I don't have a computer

i'm just going put the phone down on them now

I don't even have a landline phone

> they will get you on your mobile

I don't think I've ever had a telemarketer call my cell. I don't answer it if the number doesn't come up on caller ID though

I got one about 2 or 3 months before Christmas - they said it was Microsoft & they were aware of a virus on my computer.........yeah, as though Microsoft were going to phone me!

I told them to bog off...then I did loads of scans just to make sure!

good to know, thanks

My sister in law was stupid enough to fall for this the other month.

Thanks for that, I would have fallen for it also!

We've had loads, there are 2 ways of getting rid of them (from experience)..

You either play along and when it gets to the final stage just keep saying the page cannot be displayed ..

Or the easiest and quicker way (if you don't want to play) is tell them you have a Mac !

I had them call me last week to tell me that I had a virus on my computer and that they would tell me some of the error messages they were getting. I politely told them I had Norton Antivirus on there so I very much doubted I had any problems and then put the phone down.

> or just say your a scum and i'm going report you >

My sister had one the other day, and my sister said 'hang on now, are you calling from Microsoft ?' to which the scammer said 'no madam , I am calling from Windows Vista' HAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!

I took a call exactly the same when I was at my dad's house after he died a few weeks ago. He had bought a laptop for a daughter of his "friend " who shall we say is a lot of problems and very much an undesirable in my circles. So when I got the call all my brain could see was computer , virus ...Revenge and I politely told the Indian Gentleman that we would sort it ourselves as we were busy, obviously not planning to pass this information on, I just wasn't thinking straight . When I got off the phone and told my brother , all of a sudden the penny dropped and I was absolutely gutted that I'd missed the scam and the opprtunity to wind them up on the phone myself !

I remember the very first call we had, this dominant guy asked me do I have a laptop, I said yes, but I said I'd only just bought it and it was still in it's box unopened. He demanded I had a virus on it and he needed to check it

I was on my laptop at the time surfing the Internet When you are pretty much computer minded, it is so much fun knowing how to play them

davemck3834 wrote:I took a call exactly the same when I was at my dad's house after he died a few weeks ago. He had bought a laptop for a daughter of his "friend " who shall we say is a lot of problems and very much an undesirable in my circles. So when I got the call all my brain could see was computer , virus ...Revenge and I politely told the Indian Gentleman that we would sort it ourselves as we were busy, obviously not planning to pass this information on, I just wasn't thinking straight . When I got off the phone and told my brother , all of a sudden the penny dropped and I was absolutely gutted that I'd missed the scam and the opprtunity to wind them up on the phone myself !

>

Lisa & Cairo wrote:My sister in law was stupid enough to fall for this the other month.

Was there any damage done?

Caryll wrote:

Lisa & Cairo wrote:My sister in law was stupid enough to fall for this the other month.

Was there any damage done?

If I remember correctly, probably nigh on £200 lighter !

they place a virus on the pc and you have to pay them to remove it

jstaff wrote:I don't even have a landline phone

I'm seriously thinking about cancelling my landline ... I dont have sky, dont use the landline, we all have mbl's, we dont even answer it half the time anymore cus its always cold callers, family and friends use our mbl's ..... so WTF am I paying £30-40 a month for ??? .... line rental and nuisance callers ... that 40 squid a month could go into the Land Rover Defender fund

Andy wrote:

jstaff wrote:I don't even have a landline phone

I'm seriously thinking about cancelling my landline ... I dont have sky, dont use the landline, we all have mbl's, we dont even answer it half the time anymore cus its always cold callers, family and friends use our mbl's ..... so WTF am I paying £30-40 a month for ??? .... line rental and nuisance callers ... that 40 squid a month could go into the Land Rover Defender fund

They seen you coming

we have to have landline to get cheaper internet i'm sick of answering and getting someone i cant understand or talking machines

Maria. wrote:

Caryll wrote:

Lisa & Cairo wrote:My sister in law was stupid enough to fall for this the other month.

Was there any damage done?

If I remember correctly, probably nigh on £200 lighter !

Caryll wrote:

Maria. wrote:

Caryll wrote:

Lisa & Cairo wrote:My sister in law was stupid enough to fall for this the other month.

Was there any damage done?

If I remember correctly, probably nigh on £200 lighter !

Yep, I know ! But this exact scam has made the news, and if I remember correctly, they have found the culprits .. Africa somewhere (if I remember correctly !). But another has surfaced, claiming 'we are not from Microsoft, we are from Windows Vista' ... which is .... Microsoft.

Feel sorry for all the vulnerable, it's daylight god damn robbery ! The first phonecall I had, the bloke turned very nasty to me on the phone when I repeatedly said I didn't have a Laptop, or a Computer in the house !


Idiot.

Maria. wrote:

Caryll wrote:

Maria. wrote:

Caryll wrote:

Lisa & Cairo wrote:My sister in law was stupid enough to fall for this the other month.

Was there any damage done?

If I remember correctly, probably nigh on £200 lighter !

Yep, I know ! But this exact scam has made the news, and if I remember correctly, they have found the culprits .. Africa somewhere (if I remember correctly !). But another has surfaced, claiming 'we are not from Microsoft, we are from Windows Vista' ... which is .... Microsoft.

Feel sorry for all the vulnerable, it's daylight god damn robbery ! The first phonecall I had, the bloke turned very nasty to me on the phone when I repeatedly said I didn't have a Laptop, or a Computer in the house !


Idiot.

The call I had the bloke said he was from a "Microsoft certified service centre" and that they had been receiving messages about the virus on my laptop, you know when you have a problem and it says "report to microsoft for further diagnosis (or words to that effect), he assumed he was talking to the householder, a fair fishing ploy, for most households these days they wil have a pc or laptop for sure, and as part of the service contract they were there to sort it out remotely. TBH like I said earlier I was taken in as I just saw revenge and nothing else , but for your average joe bloggs , especially the oldies that have taken up computers in the last few years, that line is going to hit home with at least 1 out of 5 so it's a fair chance they have of success.

I know we laugh about the idiots , but with technology the way it is there are a lot of vulnerable people out there to prey on. Thats why places like pc world make so much money , because people trust them and they don't know how much they can save by going elsewhere to buy a pc, laptop, get a repair done etc. We live in a vicious techno world and if people know no better they go along with stuff because its comfortable

i've had a few of these and when i asked how they knew if i had a virus they said my computer told them it sends an automatic report. i told them i never asked for this service and am hope i am not paying extra to virgin for it and he said no virgin customers get the service for free. ok then mate sod off i said ( never told him but we are with AOL not bloody virgin you lying bleepy man) the second time i got nasty with them and the third time i hing up. a tip for all you people out there though. i know this from experience of working in the dreaded call centres. if you pick up your phone and for the first couple of seconds there doesnt seem to be anyone there it is because half of the cold calls we get are dialled by an automated machine that will then pass to the next available operator hence the pause. just hang up and ignore it

my mum had these calls atleast twice a week for over amonth saying this microsoft, your pc is infected, so she phoned me to ask what to do, i said tell them your pc is in for repair and ask what company they are then report them to microsoft uk, wich she did. she's never heard from them since

It is a crying shame so many people fall for it, but who are they to know ? My dad wouldn't have a clue and if he had the phone call he would probably fall fo it to if I hadn't of told him. I remember my mum telling me when I came home from work one day, my reaction was 'what a load of balls, Microsoft would never make such calls' .. and they wouldn't, ever !

I had read it all on the BBC News Website and people had the chance to reply, so many people got reeled in it was shocking. And as for PC World also mentioned in the above post .. they grind my gears too ! They are just as bad putting vulnerable people under pressure to buy their products when going in store to purchase 'whatever'.

I have one rule in my family / friends circle when it comes to them buying anything tech .... DON'T BUY UNLESS I AM WITH YOU ! They will only get sucked into to buying stuff they really don't need otherwise. The amount of mobile phone shops, computer shops, and even the Apple Store shops I've been into when friends want to go in and ask for advice on this or that, and the absolute bull-crap they have been fed in order to get their wallet out is shocking ! Grrrr gets my goat ! Why can't people just be genuine !

Agree 100% Maria , but fact is there are always them people that want to be independent , and they will go into the shop and trust the people because they work there so they must be honest and reliable. Fact is go back 20years and that was the case. My mam and dad would deal with the local shops and paya little more for the service , because thats what you got , service. Nowadays , though there are 1 or 2 exceptions to the rule, the little shops are playing the personal service touch and robbing people blind , the bigger shops play the we are big, we know best scenario. So ultimately if you are not prepared to take a gamble and play the internet you get robbed either way.

davemck3834 wrote:Agree 100% Maria , but fact is there are always them people that want to be independent , and they will go into the shop and trust the people because they work there so they must be honest and reliable. Fact is go back 20years and that was the case. My mam and dad would deal with the local shops and paya little more for the service , because thats what you got , service. Nowadays , though there are 1 or 2 exceptions to the rule, the little shops are playing the personal service touch and robbing people blind , the bigger shops play the we are big, we know best scenario. So ultimately if you are not prepared to take a gamble and play the internet you get robbed either way.

Definitley, I can see how things have changed over the years. Sometimes, although my job does bore me to tears at times, I'm kinda glad I fell in the tech industry, when it comes to things like we've mentioned, the computer scams, the verbal rubbish your fed in the shops, even the technical support you get from ISP's when you need them, I have a grasp of when I know I'm being fooled, or, getting the wool pulled over my eyes. I educate my family as much as I can in this field and thankfully, it's paid off, it's always 'I'll ask Maria first', the last thing I want is people close to me getting dragged into ill-services. I wish we could go back 20 years, life was so much simpler then !

touch wood we have not had any

lynne wrote:touch wood we have not had any

But when you do get it, and you will, you will be prepared xxxx gottalove this forum

I get landline calls atleast twice a day for PPI claims. Does my head.