Phone call from WINDOWS

[headjog]

Hi any technical peeps available?

I have just had the second phone call in two days from someone claiming to be from windows & telling me I need to delete Errors & warnings from somewhere in the system before it corrupts something else.

Problem,1. I have no idea what he's talking about. I'm not getting any error warnings here.

2. I have no idea how he got my phone number or name ( & I'm not sure if he means me or one of the girls since his accent was so strong

I couldn't decide), & so it could be for any one of three laptops he means.( & I didn't buy this one I'm on)

3. Is this a scam of some sort?

4. How can I check? is there an email contact for this sort of query? Have just been online to look, but they're all phone numbers & I

don't want to be clocking up a huge bill unnecessarily.

 

Any help or advice, very gratefully received. headj

[Guest]

Hi any technical peeps available?

I have just had the second phone call in two days from someone claiming to be from windows & telling me I need to delete Errors & warnings from somewhere in the system before it corrupts something else.

Problem,1. I have no idea what he's talking about. I'm not getting any error warnings here.

2. I have no idea how he got my phone number or name ( & I'm not sure if he means me or one of the girls since his accent was so strong

I couldn't decide), & so it could be for any one of three laptops he means.( & I didn't buy this one I'm on)

3. Is this a scam of some sort?

4. How can I check? is there an email contact for this sort of query? Have just been online to look, but they're all phone numbers & I

don't want to be clocking up a huge bill unnecessarily.

 

Any help or advice, very gratefully received. headj

 

Sounds like a scam to me -

 

http://money-watch.co.uk/7118/beware-of-the-windows-phone-scam

[RLWP]

Hi any technical peeps available?

I have just had the second phone call in two days from someone claiming to be from windows & telling me I need to delete Errors & warnings from somewhere in the system before it corrupts something else.

Problem,1. I have no idea what he's talking about. I'm not getting any error warnings here.

2. I have no idea how he got my phone number or name ( & I'm not sure if he means me or one of the girls since his accent was so strong

I couldn't decide), & so it could be for any one of three laptops he means.( & I didn't buy this one I'm on)

3. Is this a scam of some sort?

4. How can I check? is there an email contact for this sort of query? Have just been online to look, but they're all phone numbers & I

don't want to be clocking up a huge bill unnecessarily.

 

Any help or advice, very gratefully received. headj

 

It's a scam. They're cold calling knowing that people often have problems with computers. They use MIcrosoft's name to give themselves credibility

 

Try registering with the Telephone Preference service

 

Richard

[Picard]

Hi, was having probs with AOL, and guy rang saying if I was having probs with my computer it could be due to errors and he could check my computer if I typed in commands, this, (not having my thinking head on as I thought it was a geek from AOL,) I did and a list of errors came up and he said he could cure this for X amount of £s.

It's a scam. Don't let him access your computer by remote, which he wanted to do. Sounds like the same chappy. Hope this helps.

[Boatless]

The TPS will make no difference in any way, these scammers do not look at lists (and TPS only applies to businesses from the UK), they just phone any number they can find.

 

Microsoft DO NOT phone anyone, the only people that might call you about viruses spreading fronm your email are your ISP.

 

If you want to stop nuisance calls get a call blocker like trueCall, the best piece of kit you can buy.

[headjog]

Thanks for prompt response guys, I usually have my 'suspicious head' on with strangers cold calling, but he told me I hadn't followed his instructions yesterday!

Have just had a look at link & it looks like it is a scam. Have been on the telephone preference for a number of years Richard, but apparently they cannot stop overseas call centres, scammers - just one of those things eh?

Thanks again though, can rest easy now!

[muddywaters]

There was a warning given out about this scam on our local radio a couple of weeks ago.

The warning was what another poster has said, they charge you to down load something to get rid of the virus but they just want to gain access to your PC to get at your personal details and will charge you for it as well.

More to do with identity theft than anything the way I heard it

[RLWP]

There was a warning given out about this scam on our local radio a couple of weeks ago.

The warning was what another poster has said, they charge you to down load something to get rid of the virus but they just want to gain access to your PC to get at your personal details and will charge you for it as well.

More to do with identity theft than anything the way I heard it

 

My guess would be that it's more to do with extracting money for fixing non-existent problems than identity theft to be honest. It's almost legal and hard to prove they didn't "fix" something

 

Identity theft would make a better radio story

 

Richard

[MartinC]

You don't get this problem with an Apple Mac.

[Liam]

You don't get this problem with an Apple Mac.

 

And why would you? Windows is the most widely used operating system so creating a virus to attack a very small percentage of any given user base doesn't make sense.

 

If Apple was as popular as Microsoft they too would be targeted.

[Guest]

And why would you? Windows is the most widely used operating system so creating a virus to attack a very small percentage of any given user base doesn't make sense.

 

If Apple was as popular as Microsoft they too would be targeted.

 

and what is the chance of ringing randomly and starting with-

 

"Hi I'm from Apple" - and finding somebody at the other end who actually has an Apple computer - very slim I would say....

[Liam]

I thought I just said that

[Guest]

I thought I just said that

 

actually that's not how I read it clearly - you referred to creating a virus attack - which this isn't.

 

This is about purporting to solve a virus attack that hasn't actually taken place.

[andywatson]

You don't get this problem with an Apple Mac.

 

Yes you do.

You might not get so many viruses but you still get scam phone calls.

I have confirmed this with a friend who has a Mac.

 

When I get these calls I talk to them briefly like I've been taken in, switch to hands free and tell them I'm starting my computer , carry on with what I'm doing but talk occaisionally or put the phone in front of the radio. It's a bit of fun and wastes their time, sometimes quite a lot of their time.

If enough people do this to cold callers it will die out.

[Guest]

If enough people do this to cold callers it will die out.

 

I normally just say

 

'oh hang on I'm obviously going to need to write something down let me get a pen'

 

and pop the phone down on it's side....

 

In the early days of doing this I think the longest I timed was somebody waited 15 minutes....most now seem to give up after a few seconds, so it's not quite as much fun now. But we do seem to get a lot less calls since registered with the TPS (noting as said above that this won't stop people randomly dialling your number or computer systems doing this which is common now too)

[twbm]

Just had one of these calls so they're still at it. Call centre, Indian type accent calling on behalf of 'Windows'. Wife took a similar call last week but that was from a guy with a more British accent saying he was from Microsoft, who don't cold call. Wife was asked to go to logmein123.com which is possibly legit but allows them instant access to your computer if you type in the code they give you. So don't.

[by'eck]

You don't get this problem with an Apple Mac.

 

That's because few use them. No challenge for the hackers

[David Mack]

Just had one of these calls so they're still at it. Call centre, Indian type accent calling on behalf of 'Windows'. Wife took a similar call last week but that was from a guy with a more British accent saying he was from Microsoft, who don't cold call. Wife was asked to go to logmein123.com which is possibly legit but allows them instant access to your computer if you type in the code they give you. So don't.

 

My father took a similar call last week. He is normally very aware of this sort of thing, but as he had been having problems with his computer running slowly, the guy's suggestions about viruses and trojans which needed cleaning up sounded very plausible. Fortunately his 6th sense was still working and after a while he put the phone down on the guy, but he was very worried that he might nevertheless be infected with something.

 

I have directed him to malwarebytes and superantispyware instead.

 

David

[Guest]

I have had something similar a while ago. I told them to go forth and multiply. I switched from microsoft ages ago because of this sort of annoying junk by phone and email. I just tell them I don't use MS.

Edited November 30, 2011 by Guest

[Mick_B]

If someone is so stupid that they claim to be from a "Product" and not from the company that manufactures that product, you can bet it is a scam.

 

[Robbo]

Hi any technical peeps available?

I have just had the second phone call in two days from someone claiming to be from windows & telling me I need to delete Errors & warnings from somewhere in the system before it corrupts something else.

 

Yes it's a scam, don't do anything they say.

 

What makes you think that there is something wrong with your machine?

 

You don't get this problem with an Apple Mac.

 

Same remote software can and does work with Mac's, and to be honest Mac users can be more naive to this than Window users cause they think that they don't need virus protection and the like. Trojans and social engineering work on both platforms.

[RLWP]

I do hope they have learned to ignore this since February

 

Richard

[Robbo]

And why would you? Windows is the most widely used operating system so creating a virus to attack a very small percentage of any given user base doesn't make sense.

 

If Apple was as popular as Microsoft they too would be targeted.

 

You say that but it's about the same number of unprotected machines, so Mac's are now starting to be targeted - although Apple have started to enable trojan protection in OS/X Snow Leopard (maybe Leopard?) and above.

[twbm]

I do hope they have learned to ignore this since February

 

Richard

 

You can only ignore something if your aware of it. I wasn't and assumed others might be in the same position so thought I'd share. I did however use the search function before posting a new thread ...............

[Radiomariner]

I get these calls regularly. I have caller ID on my phone and it usually shows as "Unavailable" or "International" or less occasionally "Witheld" I always offer to call them back and ask for a phone number. They always hang up.