Virus phone scam being run from call centres in India
Britons targeted by cold callers pretending to be from Microsoft phoning to fix a fake computer problem
The scam always starts the same way: the phone rings at someone's home, and the caller – usually with an Indian accent – asks for the householder, quoting their name and address before saying "I'm calling for Microsoft. We've had a report from your internet service provider of serious virus problems from your computer."
Dire forecasts are made that if the problem is not solved, the computer will become unusable.
The puzzled owner is then directed to their computer, and asked to open a program called "Windows Event Viewer". Its contents are, to the average user, worrying: they look like a long list of errors, some labelled "critical". "Yes, that's it," says the caller. "Now let me guide you through the steps to fixing it."
The computer owner is directed to a website and told to download a program that hands over remote control of the computer, and the caller "installs" various "fixes" for the problem. And then it's time to pay a fee: £185 for a "subscription" to the "preventative service".
The only catch: there was never anything wrong with the computer, the caller is not working for Microsoft or the internet service provider, and the owner has given a complete stranger access to every piece of data on their machine.
It may be that your whole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
tps is bollox if you ask me - since i subscribed to it ive been getting more bogus calls than ever - i'm sure it's another scam site to get mailing lists & fone numbers.
You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when posting something which you later rely on in quote. Anything you do say may be ripped to sh*t.
yes I had that hoax about 6 months ago, quite spooky as the computer had just booted up when he called, so there must be some link to the ISP................took him all they way to the end bit where he checks to see if your warranty with microsft is run out then he trys to send you to a linked site to upgrade.............asked him for his name and number so I could do some checks and call him back...........with supreme conviction he asks "have you got a pen", starts to give a number then the phone goes dead.
He was very convincing and focused on how he wanted the scam to go, no mater what questions I threw at him..............easy to see how it works on some people.
I had the same one - he stated "we're the inventor of windows". So I asked "so yo'ure Microsoft?" - he stated "No", so I took the pi$$ for a few sentences until I got bored and then called him a lying clunge and hung up...
