Carlh

my dad just rang me, saying earlier in the day when my mum (who is recovering from breast cancer) has a phone call from "microsoft" saying "turn your pc on you have a virus, we will clear it for you".

My mum being my mum, not technical at all goes and does what they've asked.

Now i work and use computers and have done for the last 26 years, if she had rung me i would have told her to put the phone down on them. I know its a scam, but the problem is, im 150 miles away from their house so i cant go checking it for spyware (i bet the bathplugs have installed a keylogger). I dont want to connect remotely as i dont know what these gits have put on the computer.

ive told my dad not to use paypal or his credit card. hopefully he'll listen. He's running spybot so ive given him instructions on how to update it and run scans and immunize and fix, hopefully that'll clear what crap they would have transferred onto it.

Has anyone else experienced this and if so, do you know what ****e they put on your PC so i can advise me pops if his computer is going to be ok after spybot has done its thing (he's got avg free too)

If you've never heard about this before, please beware as there are people ringing up pretending to be microsoft and offering to clean your computer (for money of course) but what they do is access your pc first after giving you instructions on how to remote assist. Please just put the phone down if you get that type of call.

Carl

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Had exactly this sort of scam a few days ago. Luckily as I work in IT/web I knew stragiht away they were talking crap, but I strung them along for a while before deciding to get rid of them whereupon the woman got very insistent and started shouting over me...... it was at this point I waited for her to STFU and informed her she was a lying scamming bitch (seemed appropriate ) to which she got a bit of a wobble in her voice and told me she was just doing her jiob... my reply was that she should get another job as being a lying scammer wasn't a good thing to have on her CV. She hung up after telling me I was overly aggressive ...... and I hadn't even really got started

BTW the callerID is 0000000000 - completely illegal to do in the UK, but of course stopping it would require Ofcom to get off there **** and actually do something... not much chance of that!

Thing is for every one of me is someone less knowledgeable and more vulnerable who will get scammed ... makes my blood boil

jura11

iTrader: (7)

Just one time happens to my friend which straight away call me,because know i'm working with computers and i build his PC.
Later call again and i speak with "this" company and i ask for which company working etc.,she told me we are Microsoft,i said OK,but my friend using Mac OSX,she just hung up without simply word,second time same company called on my work phone and i straight away recognize "this" company and she voice and i ask again for which company working same answer,i just said,if you are trying scam me,you have wrong number,MS will never call anybody and MS don't care about the viruses,she just hung up with not nice word.

In my view these companies targeting vulnerable people which don't know own rights and no at last these companies using numbers which bought from someone,similar situations is with claims etc.

Jura

Blue by You

iTrader: (23)

I've had half a dozen of these hoax calls.
Just play along as if you are complying with their requests, and when you've had enough tell them you have recorded the conversation, logged their phone number, and you will be passing it on to Interpol computer fraud division.
I've never heard a phone cut off so quickly

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Dads neighbour just happemed to mention to him the other day that he had a call from MS advising him his pc was infected witha virus and they could get rid off it for him, agread for them to take control off his pc and then charged him £100 for there work !! strange thing is he was insistant that it was a genuine call and that he was happy now as his pc certainly seemed faster !!

dad did try telling him as both him and I have both been pestered lately regarding these calls but again insisited it was genuine- its these very folk that make it all so very easy for them !!

dad did say to watch that more did not dissaper from his bank account but walked away after getting the feeling the neighbour did not seem to bothered !!!

StrikE

iTrader: (3)

Same here i was getting nearly daily a phone call saying there was a problem with my computer... how would they know?

After a few times i just answered the phone saying 'i dont have a pc as i only worship Jesus and its against my religion to offend such technology'
You can actually here them thinking WTF is this stupid person talking about, poor ethnics dont phone as often now

kernel

I've just had my first one of these. Played along for a while but I couldn't understand what he was saying. Event key or something. Eventually he said the Windows flag key. I said couldn't see it but he was insistent even after I said why would my Apple have a Window's key. Eventually he transferred me to someone who spoke better English but he took some convincing I couldn't see his Window key either.

Trouble is like others here I know people who'd probably believe this carp. At least I can laugh at them, much more enjoyable than the share scheme calls I'm also forever getting.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

I'm sorry, but anyone that falls for this scam deserves everything they get.
Scams happen all the time. You will never stop them trying. All we can do is educate ourselves and be vigilant.
If someone phoned me up and claimed to microsoft the first thing I would do is ask them where the hell they got my number from and can they confirm which version of Windows I was running. Job done.

kernel

Easy to say but I know retired people who never really used a computer in their working life, they get one to do certain functions and have little idea what an OS is let alone what version it runs. All this stuff is new to them and as you get older grasping new concepts gets harder. A lot of all this is magic!

DJ_Jon

iTrader: (7)

Had one of these calls about 30 minutes ago, johnny foreigner on the other end of the phone asked for my wife, called me Mrs Dj_Jon, then decided I was a Mr after all & was sure that my PC was infected with a virus. I decided to string her along a bit before telling her to get fooked.

These people are oxygen thieves.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

How very well put!

aimee1969

Hi,

I have what could be a new scam which even more 'real'.

I had a phone call about my 'assist expiring' and that there computer had listed that my computer was sending viruses with every email i sent and if i did not buy the 'remote assist' they would freeze my email account and have no access to my account. They said as I had had assistance before I could get an upgrade of lifetime support for the normal price of 4 years as the upgrade would allow it to transfer to new comuters and to prove the upgrade they would need my card number and 3 digit security number. So stupidly I gave the details and he got remote assist started. What then happened is he went to the website of New World Services Inc. - Purchase Page (CISC Support) and got me to fill in the details - He then went to compose email on my yahoo account and wrote an email saying I was satisfied with the services. He then went in and showed me the logs saying that yellow were malicious software and red were virouses. He said I did not have to worry as 'remote assist' would keep my computer running like new without me having to bother trying to do it myself. He then defragged and cleared the cookies as well as clearing the logs and then showed me that the logs showed that the malicious software and virouses had been deleted. I had been going to defrag and optimise when I got the phonecall and I liked to do that at least every day as doing it regulary means it can often take less time and once it was defragged and optimised it started working verry fast. I complaned to New World Services Inc. who said if it is one of there staff I would get a refund. I was then told I would get a refund, then refund with discount for services done then told it was not one of there staff so I would not get a refund so it looks like it is bye-bye to the £210+VAT@20%. I went to my bank who said to cancel the debit card as it was a fraudster posing to be from microsoft who had sent me 'on remore assist' to New World Services Inc. to make it seen real. I have been getting phone calls saying that I had ordered the package and it was for only 4 years and other calls saying no, it is for lifetime but I understand now why New World Services Inc. were getting aggressive verbally to me whan my bank has said it was a fraudster trying to empty my bank account. My bank said that luckily i had cottoned on soon enough as he had not taken any of my money when the card had been cancelled.

I do not require the services of New World Services Inc. and hope for them to stop pestering me for access to my computer.

Has anyone else had dealings with New World Services Inc., I found them to get verbally aggressive with intimidation when I decline when they say for me to let them 'remote assist' and when I end the call(s) they call back.

They used www.Gotomypc.com to remotely use the computer so might have an account and a call person used the name Shane Watson.

Hanley

I could quite eaily get your money back from these scammers!!

All I will need is your credit card number and 3 digit security code on the back, purely so I can compare with the details the fraudsters have on the database.

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

aimee1969

Hi,

They used www.Gotomypc.com to remotely use the computer so might have an account and a call person used the name Shane Watson.

DJ_Jon

iTrader: (7)

Proof that there are people out there that fall for these scams..

It always saddens me when scammers get a fish ont eh end of their line, I had these oxygen thieves on the phone the other day, unfortunately, there are lots of people out there that own a PC but have no clue about how they, and the internet work.

Hanley

Hmmm

scoobyverysoon

iTrader: (1)

Funny this as I had the OP same phone call on friday - I just wound them up for a while then give it them - to be fair they didnt hang up and said it was no scam but funny thing was - as near the end of the call he said what do I work as - I said what do you mean - he said well im a computer technician what are you - I said a computer programmer he replied saying - your pc is fine and has no errors then hung up

robby

Not sure if it's the same scam but my parents had a call yesterday from an indian sounding person who asked if i was having trouble with my downloads?
They said to call back which they didn't?

ScoobyDoo555

Sadly, the people who seem to fall for this are the older generation, so yeh "they deserve everything they get" "


Thankfully my entire family is on Mac so I've told them about this scam..... and will watch the explosions with a big bucket of popcorn.

But it is a sh1tty scam, preying on those that aren't as computer-savvy as the almighty Scoobynet massive.

mannyo

Both myself and my parents had this call yesterday, we live 144 miles apart and our phone numbers are very different. Maybe they are working through the phonebook alphabetically or is it just a coincidence we both get called on the same day at about the same time. There are not very many people with my surname in the phonebook, thats whats got me thinking.

Luckily they are of the older generation (late 60's and early 70's) and even they could tell it was a scam.