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Old 23-05-2014, 20:55
platelet
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I've had a number of phone calls tonight with an automated British voice giving me the number +447781470659 and then a code such as 8822 or 7069.There's no live person on the line, no ID, just the number and the code.I've never had phone calls like this before.What's going on?
google suggests ironically that it may come from google - an email verification code. I'm not 100% positive it came from google - could be a fake.

Have you entered your number in gmail two step verification?

If you were not trying to change something in a google app, it maybe someone was attempting to gain access to your account from another computer.

I'd check your email account

1) Check there's no mail forwarding been set up - they may well have all your mail being copied elsewhere

2) same thing for out of office / away on holiday if your account offers that

3) change your password

4) If you sign into any other sites with your email address as a user ID and the same password (amazon for instance) or if you email account contained old emails with sign in details for any sites - you'll need to change all those.

(make sure you've checked for forwarding first mind - so he doesn't get mails with all your new passwords sent on)
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Old 23-05-2014, 23:32
SkyPaulusPlus
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I've had a number of phone calls tonight with an automated British voice giving me the number +447781470659 and then a code such as 8822 or 7069.There's no live person on the line, no ID, just the number and the code.I've never had phone calls like this before.What's going on?
sounds like 2 step authentication
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Old 27-05-2014, 11:51
Earake
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I've been getting quite a few of these recently after going a long time without getting them? Has anyone else experienced that pattern? Maybe just a new set of scammers to replace the old, who'd been apprehended?
Yes I have and each one has been logged in the reporting links on this page :

http://ico.org.uk/for_the_public/top...arketing/calls

They have successfully fined several UK companies recently (foreign companies cannot be controlled) and it's only due to the number of complaints logged on their website.

Forget logging complaints with TPS, they're toothless compared to ICO.
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Old 09-07-2014, 22:52
moestavern
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Had a call tonight from this nice Indian bloke who said he was from the Microsoft IT support centre. He said his computer shows my computer has been downloading dodgy files and is running slow. If I let him log in to my computer he can take all my details and wipe my computer. Well not exactly those words but that's what he was getting at. When I told him I knew what he was doing and it was all a scam he just said no no i'm from the Microsoft IT support centre to which I just hung up on him. I loved the fact when you tell them you know what there doing and you heard it all before they still carry on
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Old 09-07-2014, 23:03
zx50
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It's a shame that you couldn't have traced where the call was coming from. You could have then asked him why the phone number was coming from India.
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Old 09-07-2014, 23:08
koantemplation
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I had a call the other week from an Indian sounding person who started saying 'Hello I'm calling from Tech support ...'

When I put the phone down.
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Old 10-07-2014, 00:51
xmodz10
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i would play a long and then at the end start swearing at them

i would do something like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4HKOWG2oEA
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Old 10-07-2014, 01:08
zx50
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i would play a long and then at the end start swearing at them

i would do something like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4HKOWG2oEA
I like how the parasites quickly put the phone down once they found out that they'd been played.
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Old 10-07-2014, 01:11
call100
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Whole sticky on the subject here.....http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...1435992http://
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Old 10-07-2014, 09:03
zx50
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There'll be more uploads on YouTube where scammers get played.
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Old 12-07-2014, 13:19
Fried Kickin
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I've just had one and asked him why he was spying on me and how he knew I had a computer.
What agency he worked for was it StingRay,Thunderbirds or The Mysterons.
With each answer I just replied "But why you spy?"
He hung up
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Old 31-07-2014, 14:28
GibsonSG
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(Indian Accent) "Good afternoon I'm calling from the technical department of the World Wide Web Server. Your computer is reporting ......" I'm sure you have heard the rest a thousand times as have I. Interesting change of name and I suspect less likely to catch someone out.
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Old 31-07-2014, 15:06
Stig
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We had 3 'Windows technical support' calls in a row at our office. This was despite the fact I told the first one that I knew it was a scam.
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Old 31-07-2014, 15:25
JasonWatkins
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Next time you get one of those calls, load up this site and arse around with it down the phone to them

http://ronwinter.tv/drums.html

(safe for work ..)

Or there's always this one .. could potentially keep them going for hours with this one

http://www.realmofdarkness.net/pc/sb/fg/stewie/14
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Old 31-07-2014, 15:29
GibsonSG
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We had 3 'Windows technical support' calls in a row at our office. This was despite the fact I told the first one that I knew it was a scam.
I've had a lot of fun with them in the past but it is getting tedious now. One of them told me I had got a problem with my computer. I pointed out that I was probably more qualified than he was to find and deal with any problems, and in any case how could he know there was a problem without hacking my firewall. He told me there definitely was a problem and my machine was running slowly. I told him that that I was using it and it was fine. He then lost his temper and started shouting at me. I hung up.

On another occasion when I had some free time I thought "I'm game let's see what they come up with". After a protracted series of hollyhocks directions designed to throw the inexperienced off the scent they directed me to some redundant setup files which according to them were a whole load of viruses. While the individual was on the phone I deleted them and thanked them for pointing them out to me.

I just put the phone down now it's not worth the time.
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Old 31-07-2014, 15:47
JamesE
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I had one yesterday saying that he was from the "technical department". I told him Anglo-Saxon to go forth and multiply. The worrying aspect is that the pillock asked for me by name. I suppose he could have just looked in a 'phone book...... but still.
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Old 31-07-2014, 15:51
JasonWatkins
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thing is, i think telling them to **** off and slamming the phone down is probably self defeating as the chances are, they'll ring back and try again.

actually taking a few minutes (if possible of course..) to demonstrate you actually know more than them is probably a better way of doing it as you'll never likely get another call.

this could well be why i've never had another one after the first call i had ..
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Old 31-07-2014, 15:55
JSemple3
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Might just be freak luck but I said before as soon as my parents switched to cordless phones, they got their first (and last to date) technical support call and what was about 2 years ago...................I just hung up *shrug* didn't give them a chance to talk
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Old 17-08-2014, 01:28
2000motels
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVQo...jzOz1UV8jCvIHA
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Old 26-08-2014, 12:09
Emma_Waughman
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After a couple of months of leaving us alone I just received one from a Indian called Peter. He`s from Windows and he said the usaul and I just played along, told them they was invading my personal property and that I knew that was a scam etc and he was carried on claiming I was wrong.

Got passed on to the senior technician, then onto the MOST senior technician. The last one tried sweet talking to me after I got a bit nasty telling me your very sweet and I was just beginning to like you. Just before the call ended he told me he loved me. I`m not making this up.

Wish they would go away.
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Old 09-10-2014, 11:29
Tadpole
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Had one this morning from a nice indian chappie on 0019898804655 (probably faked) asking me about my Windows PC. I told him I actually run Linux (which is true) which confused him slightly but when I persisted that I don't run Windows he soon hung up. Posting this via Google Chrome 38 on Linux Mint 13.
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Old 09-10-2014, 11:35
stud u like
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True Call Guardian phones from BT get rid of unwanted cold calls. I have reduced 5 calls a day at work down to 0. They don't want to identify themselves.
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Old 24-10-2014, 11:41
nathanbrazil
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I used to be plagued by Indian and occasionally British callers, claiming that my computer was affected, or they worked for Microsoft, etc. Then I got a nifty bit of kit called the CPR 1200 Number Capacity Nuisance Call Blocker.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ilpage_o03_s00

Since then, no worries.
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Old 24-10-2014, 11:44
nathanbrazil
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thing is, i think telling them to **** off and slamming the phone down is probably self defeating as the chances are, they'll ring back and try again.
Before getting my call blocker (see other post) I was caught on the hop one day, and swore that the caller. He called me back a week later, to do the same to me!
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Old 31-10-2014, 11:39
Larry_Kirsten
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Just managed to keep one on the phone for 30 minutes or so, (I was bored).
When he eventually got me to go to the join.me website in order to share screens I told him an error message had flagged up.

When he asked me what it said I read it in the 'idiot' voice I'd been using very very slowy.

'It says, the man on the phone is not really from Microsoft, he is just a thief trying to scam you'
I actually had to repeat it to him

After a few seconds he hung up, but the best bit was when I got a message on my voicemail a minute later (I'd already blocked his number) swearing at me and saying what he was going to do to me and my wife... You just know you've managed to piss them off when they resort to that

Oh, I got a few chores done at the same time, told him people were at the door whilst I made a coffee and emptied the trash etc.
All in all a job well done as far as I'm concerned
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