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Unsolicited calls concerning your computer |
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#26 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Filmer Hole.
Posts: 6,448
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I have these regularly phoning up
I find the best thing to do if you have the time is to play stupid, make them think they are getting somewhere and say you cant find the buttons they want you to press, I just keep going and say I'm pressing the button but nothing is happening, then ask them if I have to turn the computer on first? then give it a good five minutes waiting for it to start up as it is old, maybe ask them to hold on while I answer the door and keep it going for as long as possible. Then find buttons to press but nothing happens etc Usually at some point they click that I am taking the piss and either get very abusive calling my sister mother father etc all the names under the sun and intimating sexual acts with them or they get angry and hang up. I promise if you have the time, try it yourself its very rewarding and it stops them moving on to their next victim. Saying that I think I may have been blacklisted as I have not had a call like this for a month or so now. |
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#27 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 5,971
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Quote:
I have these regularly phoning up
I find the best thing to do if you have the time is to play stupid, make them think they are getting somewhere and say you cant find the buttons they want you to press, I just keep going and say I'm pressing the button but nothing is happening, then ask them if I have to turn the computer on first? then give it a good five minutes waiting for it to start up as it is old, maybe ask them to hold on while I answer the door and keep it going for as long as possible. Then find buttons to press but nothing happens etc Usually at some point they click that I am taking the piss and either get very abusive calling my sister mother father etc all the names under the sun and intimating sexual acts with them or they get angry and hang up. I promise if you have the time, try it yourself its very rewarding and it stops them moving on to their next victim. Saying that I think I may have been blacklisted as I have not had a call like this for a month or so now. Good article here. |
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#28 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 871
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Had a call today from a woman with a strong Indian accent. She said my computer was infected with malicious software and she needed to go through how to remove it with me.
She's from a company called pcmiles. www.pcmiles.co.uk Site looks dodgy to me and my suspicions were roused straight away. Have had 4 or 5 calls like this in the last 6 months. Won't fall for it, no way. |
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#29 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Sandy Heath, Beds. UK
Posts: 10,374
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Quote:
www.pcmiles.co.uk
Site looks dodgy to me and my suspicions were roused straight away. Have had 4 or 5 calls like this in the last 6 months. I'm sure PCmiles will be on here to clear up the situation
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#30 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: S Yorks
Posts: 1,188
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seems there busy
http://forums.techguy.org/virus-othe...tner-scam.html |
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#31 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: North Devon
Posts: 272
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Head Office address : 3 Newmaill House, Devas Street, London, E3 3LS
A grotty looking flat. |
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#32 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 76,804
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I've just had one from 'Global PC Support'...........indian accent.
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#33 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 717
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Quote:
Head Office address : 3 Newmaill House, Devas Street, London, E3 3LS
A grotty looking flat. |
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#34 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Bristol
Posts: 102
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I often have these calls..usually from Microsoft...the other day I was asked if I had windows, I said "yes..they are double glazed"..they said..no no..what windows do you have..I said I will check..I kept them hanging for a while and said.."I have counted them all and said a number..I got bored then and swore at them in Welsh and said some choice words in Arabic..they hung up..till the next time.
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#35 |
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Guest
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 11,503
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I would never entertain such a phonecall for more than the first few preliminary seconds. It's very sad that almost 15 years into the 'internet age' proper, people are still vulnerable to this kind of thing.
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#36 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Chez Newda
Posts: 3,948
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I've just had one of these, so I strung them along for a bit so here's all the nitty gritty:
First I was directed to event viewer and told all the errors and warnings are due to viruses. I was then directed to task manager where I was told that a low % in the CPU chart meaning I was only able to use a small % of my computer's actual potential (well duh) I was then transferred to a "technical support supervisor" I was then instructed to go to www login4speed com where I was then to click on "Remote Login" that re-directed to an url of www logmein123 com This brings up a LogmeIn Rescue page where he then waffled on while generating a 6 digit code. (Won't tell you the code unless anyone wants to play with them on a virtual machine if they're still there waiting for me) He told me his (made up) name was "David Brown" and that I could feel free to call him on a certain number. Payment apparently was via an online form that they must bring up when connected to your computer. He said they couldn't take card details over the phone as they were a "reputable company" All in all, I think I got a good 15 to 20 minutes out of them.
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#37 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Bristol
Posts: 102
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good on you..
They phoned me once and told me I had a virus..I said "I know..I have tonsilitis"..they actually said they could fix it if I went on line![]() ![]() I asked if they were phoneing from India..and asked if they could deliver a Vindaloo..they hung up...doh
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#38 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 232
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Quote:
I had one about a week ago saying my computer was infected with a virus and he could help me remove it.
I was already aware of this scam so asked questions like "how do you know it is infected?", and then "what IP address do you have my computer logged as?", he became somewhat evasive, and when I asked why I should trust him, a total stranger calling me, rather than the security software which I know is working properly and updating regularly, he hung up ![]() ![]() Whilst they are struggling to come up with a reason why they don't know what on earth I'm talking about, I explain to them that I'm an IT Professional and that they are wasting my time and theirs. The last guy agreed with me, said goodbye and hung up! ![]() Another way to stop them dead in their tracks is to tell them that you don't own a computer or laptop, and don't have an internet connection! For a real laugh you could even tell them that you don't own a telephone so you have no idea how they have managed to call you in the first place! That will confuse the hell out of them!
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#39 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Posts: 8,175
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Having some fun tonight, received a call about quarter hour ago, did the usual don't know what's happening, can you spell the name of what you want me to type, etc. Then as I didn't want to run dodgy software (TeamViewer), said my mouse had stopped moving (sic) so after more explanation, he's going to call me beack in about ten minutes once I've turned the computer off and back on.
I wonder what "problems" I'll encounter next
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#40 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Chez Newda
Posts: 3,948
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Can you load them up a virtual pc with linux so they connect and go "huh?"
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#41 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Posts: 8,175
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Oh dear, after 15 minutes on the phone including the guy on the phone chatting with other people in the building who he must have brought to his desk as I could hear them, he realised he's got my session ID number incorrect (when I then gave him a slightly different one), then after another correction my computer froze again (it didn't really). Their office is closing soon so they couldn't do their remote connection tonight, but they've agreed to call back tomorrow evening, when I'll have more problems in store to waste their time
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#42 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Posts: 8,175
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Quote:
Can you load them up a virtual pc with linux so they connect and go "huh?"
![]() Needless to say, I'll cause problems such as using almost all my upload bandwidth with p2p software so it takes them an age to use their remote software to see what they're doing etc. More fun than most computer games
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#43 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 80
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Calls from 2 Company's
My older brother had a call at his home from a company called "Click2Fixs" their website is http://www.click2fixs.com.
On this call he was told his computer had errors, he asked how they new this, they said that Microsof had been sent information from his computer and they wer contracted by Microsoft. Then they told him to go to 'Control Panel' 'Administraton Tools' then 'Event Viewer' then they told him to click on the arrow beside 'Windows Logs' then 'System' then they asked him to make a not of how many Red Circular and Yellow Triangular Symbols there were "He then said roughly about 100 Red and 5500 Yellow Symbols" and the phone operator said " Oh dear dear your computer is infected" then he told him "not to worry because he could fix it by connecting remotely to the infected computer, and for this service he would have to pay £168. As my brother doesn't know much about computers he agreed to the agent connecting remotely, the agent then told him to go to www.click2fixs.com and purchase the payment plan he wanted. then to click on 'Remote Login' and then another window opens with a secure login which the agent then gave my brother a code to login with, and then the agent told my brother that a technician would shortly be connected and a few moments later a chat window opened on his computer displayin Click2Fixs at the top, My brother told me the technician hardly spoke untill the end when he asked my brother to check a few things like the speed of the internet and the browser and other programs on his computer that he runs on a regular basis for his work etc, but as at the time he didn't want to open up private/personal or work related documents because the technician would be able to see the private information, he just checked a few things online and then he told the technician that it seemed to be faster. After the call had ended and the technician had diesconnected my brother restarted the computer and opened programs and documemts thet he didn't want the technician to see. and he didn't think it was much faster opening the applications at all, but it wasn't any slower either. He told me about this, and I told him that i thought it was a SCAM, but i wasn't 100% sure. What do you think? Any Ideas what the Red Errors and Yellow Warnings Could be caused by, they seem to be there even if i do a clean install of his Computer. Also another Company called a Friend of mine, and basically said the same kind of thing and he believed them, unfortunately, he paid £185. The only difference they never asked about any errors they just asked if his computer was running slow or doing odd things. this Company was called PC Zealous their website ishttp://www.pczealous.com/ And my Friend is Blind and uses special Screen Reading software. after they did what they did he turned off his computer. When he turned it back on his Screen Reading Software would not load so he had to get a sighted friend to Uninstall it and reinstall it. Luckily he had a backup of his settings for the software on a Flash Drive. Do you think both these company's are scams http://www.Click2Fixs.com http://www.PCZealous.com |
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#44 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Sandy Heath, Beds. UK
Posts: 10,374
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Quote:
He told me about this, and I told him that i thought it was a SCAM, but i wasn't 100% sure. What do you think?
Any Ideas what the Red Errors and Yellow Warnings Could be caused by, they seem to be there even if i do a clean install of his Computer. All PCs will have warnings in Event Viewer, that's what it's for. Also, everone's PC will seem 'slow' at times because they don't run infinitely quickly! |
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#45 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Notts
Posts: 1,559
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Quote:
My older brother had a call at his home from a company called "Click2Fixs" their website is http://www.click2fixs.com.
On this call he was told his computer had errors, he asked how they new this, they said that Microsof had been sent information from his computer and they wer contracted by Microsoft. Then they told him to go to 'Control Panel' 'Administraton Tools' then 'Event Viewer' then they told him to click on the arrow beside 'Windows Logs' then 'System' then they asked him to make a not of how many Red Circular and Yellow Triangular Symbols there were "He then said roughly about 100 Red and 5500 Yellow Symbols" and the phone operator said " Oh dear dear your computer is infected" then he told him "not to worry because he could fix it by connecting remotely to the infected computer, and for this service he would have to pay £168. As my brother doesn't know much about computers he agreed to the agent connecting remotely, the agent then told him to go to www.click2fixs.com and purchase the payment plan he wanted. then to click on 'Remote Login' and then another window opens with a secure login which the agent then gave my brother a code to login with, and then the agent told my brother that a technician would shortly be connected and a few moments later a chat window opened on his computer displayin Click2Fixs at the top, My brother told me the technician hardly spoke untill the end when he asked my brother to check a few things like the speed of the internet and the browser and other programs on his computer that he runs on a regular basis for his work etc, but as at the time he didn't want to open up private/personal or work related documents because the technician would be able to see the private information, he just checked a few things online and then he told the technician that it seemed to be faster. After the call had ended and the technician had diesconnected my brother restarted the computer and opened programs and documemts thet he didn't want the technician to see. and he didn't think it was much faster opening the applications at all, but it wasn't any slower either. He told me about this, and I told him that i thought it was a SCAM, but i wasn't 100% sure. What do you think? Any Ideas what the Red Errors and Yellow Warnings Could be caused by, they seem to be there even if i do a clean install of his Computer. Also another Company called a Friend of mine, and basically said the same kind of thing and he believed them, unfortunately, he paid £185. The only difference they never asked about any errors they just asked if his computer was running slow or doing odd things. this Company was called PC Zealous their website ishttp://www.pczealous.com/ And my Friend is Blind and uses special Screen Reading software. after they did what they did he turned off his computer. When he turned it back on his Screen Reading Software would not load so he had to get a sighted friend to Uninstall it and reinstall it. Luckily he had a backup of his settings for the software on a Flash Drive. Do you think both these company's are scams http://www.Click2Fixs.com http://www.PCZealous.com The only time they would phone is if you have made an enquiry about one of their products and allow them to contact you and leave your details. Any company phoning out of the blue is a total scam. |
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#46 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 80
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Thanks for that Info guys
Much appreciated |
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#47 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Posts: 8,175
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I continued the discussion with the scam caller last night, and after 25 mins, he had connected to my XP session running safely inside VMWare, ran a few odds and ends (it was difficult to follow exactly what), then installed PC Optimizer Pro
http://download.cnet.com/PC-Optimize...-10590714.html which as expected found some "critical" errors (in reality they are trivial). The guy on the phone wanted £79.95 to fix the errors (plus £3 if paid by debit card or £5 by credit card), which is odd as the software itself says you can buy a full license for only (ahem) £19.33 to fix them. Not that they need fixing anyway. I also ran a full virus scan after he went and was surprised he hadn't dumped anything nasty on the computer whilst he was messing about-- he just wants my card details to take at least £83 now, and probably empty the account later. He gave the phone number 0208 144 5408, but I can't get any reply, just an answering machine after a long wait. Anyway, he's going to call back later today
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#48 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: North East
Posts: 1,437
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I just tell them I haven't got a pc and they soon hangup. not that I would do anything anyone told me to do over the phone.
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#49 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 311
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Quote:
If you receive an unsolicited telephone call from someone wishing to discuss the performance or security of your computer, it is a scam. Do not divulge any personal details, and do not download anything to your computer.
Mods: please make this sticky |
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#50 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Posts: 8,175
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I had some more fun this afternoon as I had a surprise in store the next time they connected to my computer-- an Ubuntu Linux session inside VMWare. That wasted about 10 minutes of their time and I struggled to stop laughing out loud as the caller tried to work out what he was looking at, and had to call over someone else in the room to help him. I'm not normally evil, but I enjoyed watching them click here and there with no idea what they were doing or what they were looking at.
After saying that was my computer running Linux (which should have been a dead giveaway I know enough about computers it is a scam), I relaunched VMWare in Windows XP and wasted some time giving false identity information and card details, before my phone cut out (I hung up). When they called back I explained the battery was almost dead and it needed to be recharged so could they call me tomorrow and it of course cut out again soon afterwards. I think they'll ring back tomorrow as the lure of card information is the golden goose, regardless of something like two hours of their time (several people) spent on the phone already, or even because of it as the closer they think they are to getting the card details, the more eager they'll be. It shows how amateurish they are that their so-called expert couldn't recognise a Linux desktop and said they don't support Macs, and asked me to use the Windows computer. The next time they call, my virtual XP desktop they connect to has a new yellow wallpaper which says SCAM (Scheming, Crafty, Aggressive, Malicious) in full-screen writing. I did learn that they call themselves... Online PC Masters, and I did get through on the 020 8144 5408 support number they gave to what sounded like a noisy office late this afternoon, but no one answered. I'm glad I didn't pay £80 for that sort of technical support
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They phoned me once and told me I had a virus..I said "I know..I have tonsilitis"..they actually said they could fix it if I went on line