Strange call claiming to be from Windows operation systems

[Mrs E Blackadder]

Could do, but that's just another £5 gone.

[loopylil]

I had one of these calls saying it was microsoft.I almost fell for it to.It sounded like an asian man who told me id got errors on my pc and to type in this code which took over my curser, this went on for a couple of minutes.Then he transfered me to his manager who tried to sell me something-disc ???? that would clear all errors. It started at £189.00 , i told him i couldnt afford that being on a pension, he slowly kept bring the price down.By this time id cottoned on and put the phone down. I emailed microsoft who did investicated it and it was a [problem]. Im thankfull i hadnt give any details out but it came very close. I contacted my bank and credit card who canceled my cards for me.

The thing that gets me is my phone number is ex-directory and no one other than family knows it,or should know it. These companys that sell the numbers on should be fined for doing this.

There as been alot of scams around my area too.

[padja]

A friend on twitter has reported her mum had this phone call and not being very tech savvy believed tehe person and has had £200 taken from her bank account, all the relevant people have now been informed and bank account etc has been changed, Police are investigating too and hopefully because she has used debit card the bank are working with the police although she knows in reality she has lost the full £200.

Finally so you can pass it on to people Microsoft never ever ring you. You provider will never ring you to tell you you have errors on your PC this is the advice from Trading standards and police

[just_jue]

Hopefully through posting we can let as many people as possible know that this is a fraud.

There is quite a few good programs which are free to download which will protect your computer from Spyware, Malware and Anti Virus.

An example of these programs are:

AVG Free anti Virus

Spybot Search and Destroy - free spyware program

Malbytes Malware removal software

 

There is others out there, but I hope this helps some people

 

JJ

[Mrs E Blackadder]

I have now been phoned at least 6 or 7 times by one variant or other of this problem, and it would appear that many people are also now getting the variations (such as telling you that you have won a lottery somewhere or they are phoning from your local council to do a survey).

 

They also seem to target particular areas at one time, as several of my neighbours received similar calls within a couple of days. If we have friends/relatives/neighbours etc who might not be particularly au fait with this matter then I think we need to make sure they know about these calls and not to give out any personal information. I tend to worry about my elderly relatives being caught out, but I think they are just as likely to con a stroppy teenager who's computer isn't running as quickly as it should and would do anything to make it go a bit faster!

[loopylil]

Hi again, Thought id let you all know had email from paypal, as i thought it was spoof.Thanking me for making a payment to them for £42.99 this is the second time ive had this one. Passed it to paypal who checked it out and replied saying it wasnt their doing. So be on your guard if you get this one and let paypal know.

[locutus]

That sounds a lot like a phishing email

 

Does the email have a link to "log into your paypal"? This will probably be a clone of Paypal's site. If you log in they have your email address, and you then give them your password. Then the fraudsters can then strip your paypal account!

 

Change your password ASAP just to be safe!

[loopylil]

Hi, Paypal never send out emails like this. The last time i sent it straight to spoof@paypal.com they again put my mind at rest. I telephoned them and i was assured it was not from them.I hadnt got that amount in my account anyway.They do have records though and can check all your accounts.

I never open any links i just send it on.

Edited July 23, 2011 by loopylil
adding abit more

[sillygirl1]

There has been a hacking attack on Paypal lately, some twerp set up a bank account on MY account, then got £800 transferred into it, Paypal caught it as an 'unusual transaction' and caught the person responsible.

 

I don't have a bank account attached to my paypal, and use a separate email AND debit card for transactions - safest way. My highest transaction has been £25 so it got flagged as 'unusual activity'. I didn't click on any of the links on the email I got and went directly to Paypal myself to confirm details.

 

As for the long lost uncle dying in Nigeria and leaving $$$$s - if it was an uncle with my surname my Dad would be the beneficiary before me.... that old chestnut has been going round ever since I can remember!

[ianheadland]

my parents who have only just obtained their first laptop computer suddenly started receiving this telephone call. In however many years before of not having a computer they receive no calls. How in heck do they suddenly get this call pretending to be computer support? A very strange coincidence perhaps. Anyway my father, now well briefed as to how to deal with these con artists gave them such 'what for' on the phone that he had the con artist apologising most profusely.

Do not under any circumstances accept any call from anyone purporting to say they have detected issues with your computer and never give out your details.

I told the last call I received about so called endowment policies I may have held that he was now receiving an immediate harassment warning and any further calls would be passed to the local police. Four weeks have gone by and no return call as yet

[Nystagmite]

That sounds a lot like a phishing email

 

Does the email have a link to "log into your paypal"? This will probably be a clone of Paypal's site. If you log in they have your email address, and you then give them your password. Then the fraudsters can then strip your paypal account!

 

Change your password ASAP just to be safe!

 

If you put your mouse over this link, then you'd know whether it really is Paypal or not. I used to keep on getting emails from banks telling me that my account has been hacked. That's a bit difficult as I've never had an account with these banks...

[loopylil]

Had another phone call this evening from some asian man,very bad english saying he was from my broadband provider.I told him i knew it was a [problem] and my phone was bugged and tracing his call.He shouted F--k off at me and slammed the phone down.

[Mrs E Blackadder]

What a nice man.

[padja]

do you work for news international loopylil, what with the phone bugging LOL

[loopylil]

No Padja, i dont work for any papers. Just one of the many pensioners who have to put up with these idiots. Gets rid of them.

[Mrs E Blackadder]

It's nice to know that these foreigners who phone us are getting such a good grip on the English language!

[Mrs E Blackadder]

NOOOOOO. THEY'RE BACK WITH A VENGEANCE!!!!!!

 

I have now had 2 calls from more of these idiots in the past 2 days. The first time I just hung up but the second time I had a bit of fun and used my mum's tactic of asking them to hold (for quite a while if possible) and then go back to them and tell them you don't have a computer!

 

This bunch didn't claim to be phoning on behalf of anyone else (microsoft, BT etc), they just said that there was a major problem with my internet connection, so if I would go and turn my computer on they would be able to solve the problem for me. They also didn't ask for me by name as they usually do, they just referred to me as madam and did that awful American thing of asking you how you are, as if you're their best mate. They seemed more 'aggressive' than the last lot, a bit more foreceful on the phone, but just as evasive about who they were.

 

So, beware everyone, they seem to be changing tack in their way of approaching people. Anyone vulnerable might feel quite pressurised to be polite to them and do as they ask.

[BazzaS]

I had one of these calls at work from "Microsoft support" (oh, yeah, really?) and having a few minutes spare I thought I'd play along, and see if I could glean any more info from the call to pass on to IT so that they could send out a warning e-mail to staff ; (I work in an environment where we get IT support from an IT helpdesk provided by our employer).

 

The caller asked me about my "Windows computer", so I asked "which one?" which threw him a bit. However, he rapidly recovered and said "the Windows one!" .. 'ahh, yes' I said ... do you mean the Vista machine or the Win7 one?. He elected to chance his arm on Windows 7 ... so, playing along I said "server or day-to-day desktop?".

 

He should perhaps have realised that his script wasn't going quite to plan, but bravely soldiered on .... "the desktop, its running slowly, and we can help with that!" he ventured.

 

"Its been SOOO much faster since I swapped the hard drive for a SSD" said I, "I'm not sure I'd notice any more increase in speed". An awkward pause ensued .... I'm not sure he knew what a SSD was, and I had visions of him scanning his script for where this gambit was mentioned .... but again he wasn't to be deflected..... "Your Windows set-up needs some help to make it faster" he postured ..."You just need to....."

 

"I'm not sure I need to do anything" I interjected, " and I only follow instructions from our IT department ... so if you let me know what internal extension I can call you back on I'm sure we can establish you are who you say you are, and I can then do as you ask"......... and he was gone!.

[Tanis]

Ive had a few calls from similar companies and other niusance calls in the past. So now I have a fold in 'My Documents' with various sound clips in and then try and have a little fun with them.

 

A common one I use is to talk to them as if I don't know anything then, during the conversation I will move the phone away and say something to my daughter tell her to 'put that down', then go back to the call. This goes on for a few minutes then ends with my shouting at her (obviously not real, its all for the the guy on the other end of the phone), then play a loud gunshot noise from my PC, tell him I have to go and put the phone down.

 

Either that, or I have some noises of a woman screaming, so will play that in the background then move the phone away from my ear and say something like 'shut her up for christ sake', then try and go back to the call.

 

It can be quite entertaining sometimes if you can keep it going.

[Mrs E Blackadder]

Yay, another variation of the afore mentioned.

 

Had a call this afternoon from 011, so presumably it was somewhere abroad. Man with an indian accent, claiming to be called George, informed me that he was phoning to do a lifestyle survey and wanted to know what make of television I owned. I asked him why I would possibly want to give him that sort of information and he just said that he needed to know what make and model my tv was. Told him to 'Go away'!!

 

Perhaps I should now just keep a list of the entire contents of my home by the phone so that I can tell any complete stranger who calls exactly what I own

[locutus]

Knowledge is power... next call would obviously be from whatever manufacturer made your TV. My guess is "as you are a loyal customer of XXXX, we entered you into a competition and you won a brand new 60" TV, all you have to pay is shipping, let us have your credit card details please..." next thing you know credit card is drained!

 

BTW Tanis, google "soundboard" and have some fun with celebs talking to them

[Mrs E Blackadder]

Knowledge is power... next call would obviously be from whatever manufacturer made your TV. My guess is "as you are a loyal customer of XXXX, we entered you into a competition and you won a brand new 60" TV, all you have to pay is shipping, let us have your credit card details please..." next thing you know credit card is drained!

 

I should be getting a call from the manufacturers of the Fukoffee 2000 then. It's becoming a very popular brand

[sillygirl1]

Try the 'suimemasien' (Japanese for Excuse me....) or the 'fukusatsu' (Japanese for complicated!). I haven't had any calls from Microsoft but will have fun when I have!

[Mrs E Blackadder]

YAY!! I have just received an email from HMRC telling me that I am due a tax refund of £570. All I have to do is send them my bank details and they will instantly refund the amount into my account.

 

They even sign the email 'Best regards, HMRC'.

 

Better rush and send them my details. Can't possibly miss out on a refund like that. (Is the sarcasm shining through )

[slick132]

Yaay !!

 

Lucky Mrs E B !! Can you lend us a few bob when the money comes in !

 

For those who may not be aware, this is a con trick and should never be responded to.