Got a call from a "Windows Support" Officer...scam

[purplerose]

Hey guys,

I just got a call from a guy who claims they are a windows support technical officer.

He said that they had a readiing that my computer is slow and that there were viriuses that went through some gate way and my computer was on the verge of crashing unless I follow the Supports instructions.


Now this is a second time I have gotten this call one was at my boyfriend's parents' house and now they reach my house. I knew it was a scam as I hung up and they called me back. So I decided to play along, telling them I was super scared by what they were telling me and that I only use the internet for forums, Facebook and Yahoo news.

The Indian guy (the accent was Indian) told me it was nothing to worry about but the sites I go on carry viriuses. Then he passed me onto his "supervisor" which was just the guy passing the phone to someone else. Really if it was a real company they would put you on pause with music and then a ringing sound.


So I freigned shock and said "OMG The attention sites are telling me that the sites are from adult websites. Like "Girlkissinggirls.com" and "Fellatioqueen.com" What do I do? etc.

Guy got pretty excited and asked how old I was so I said I was 22. Then it was more technical jargon and finally I said I had a Windows 3.1 and I have dial-up internet.

To which he said Oh okay and hung up.

I thought they were done until two hours later and they called back, poor mum was like "I told you we don't have a computer." Then she hung up.
OH said they called back because they couldn't get access to my computer.
-----

I knew it was a scam but what about people that are niave or unaware of it. Especially the mentally vunerable or the elderly.

Has anyone had this happen to them?

 

[purplerose]

Thought I add their transcript incase anyone out there gets a call:

They will start off with "Hello my name is ***** and I'm calling from Windows Technical Support this is in regards to your computer."

The instructions they tell you to go to is:

go to – run
- event viewer (eventvwr)
- windows logs
- applications
- search for yellow and red errors
- told me they were viruses
- wanted me to get receipts warranty information, serial numbers, all information regarding computer warranty

Passing you off to their supervisor or manager:

- asked you to go to start run
- www . logmein123 . com
- and they will give you a 6 digit code

Please if someone calls you with this info remember this is a scam!

 

[Jasiellover]

Wow some people are pathetic! That is scary but I'm glad you knew they were scammers. I feel bad if people actually believed them :/

 

[purplerose]

Thought I get it out there Jasiel, especially for people who don't know what it is. Just the other day at a friend's house whom doesn't have a the internet let alone a computer had the same call and even when my friend insisted that there was no computer the caller got stroppy and ended up hanging up on my friend.

 

[CareBear]

I've had this call as well and as soon as I asked how they knew my computer was running slow they hung up!

 

[Robthebloke]

Hi - I'm new to this site, I found it whilst searching through google about the windows scam, however my girlfriend and I are trying for our 1st baby so it seemed appropriate for me to register.

Regarding this scam phone call - there have been many of these now and it is most important that you DO NOT allow anybody to remotely access your computer. They can implant viruses, have access to all your private info etc.

The scammers usually identify a "made up threat" and request your credit card details to rectify it. As a precaution I suggest you go to START - CONTROLL PANEL - SYSTEM AND SECURITY - SYSTEM - REMOTE SETTINGS - REMOTE - and untick the box that says "Allow remote assistance connections to this computer. Then hit apply.
If you did visit any websites suggested by the scammers then run a complete system virus check too.

Anyway - on a lighter note ... hello everyone

 

[flubdub]

Thanks for all the info everyone!!
And Welcome RobtheBloke. Nice to see a man around here

 

[purplerose]

I can't believe these guys just ring up random numbers to try and con people. I try and keep them on as long as I can cause it's them calling me and so it they are the one who will get a huge phone bill at the end of it.

 

[Conina]

They phoned me the other night also. They've tried my sister's FIL also and I'd already heard the story. They therefore got as far as "Hello I'm from Windows supp..." before I hung up...

 

[purplerose]

P.S Rob your advice is so welcomed

Welcome to the forum

 

[kirst1805]

Wow, didn't know about this. Thanks for the info.

xx

 

[jakey1]

Scam, Scam, Scam!!! My mum got a call from 'AOL' a few weeks ago saying that she had a virus on her computer and could she give them her passwords so that they could sort it out for her

Luckily my mam is pretty clued up on these things and in no uncertain terms told the guy at the other end of the phone to F**k Off!!

There are some real scumbags out there!!

 

[amie-leigh]

thanks for the warning i never hear the phone usually anyway but will be fun to wind these guys up if they do call

 

[binxyboo]

I have had these guys call up a few times now.

While we are on the subject of telephone scams there is another one I would like to make you aware of.

The Telephone Preference Service scam - Someone calls you (from an international number) and says that they notice that you registered on the TPS. They then say that your free trial is now up but they can take payment for the service over the phone if you just give them your credit card details.
The TPS is a FREE service.

 

[iceylou]

my mum (shes 80) got a call like this a few weeks back. she let them blab on and then she let them have it. she is very nasty when pushed. he apologised and hung up.

 

[purplerose]

Thanks for the update on the TPS scam. These people don't seem to quit. I try to keep them on as long as possible as they are the one who is calling me. So at the end of it they get no credit card details/ no access to my computer and they get a hefty phone bill.

 

[blaze777]

My dad is a computer tech and he's had a few phone calls from elderly people that he does jobs for that have had the phone calls. They have both gotten quite panicked about the situation.

It's disgusting how people can get away with it!

 

[Nats21]

I got a call from someone along the same lines, he said that they'd ran a check and thought my computer had viruses, he said that I needed to go to the computer and click on something and then he'd take me through step by step what I needed to do. When I told him that my computer wasn't on and I wouldn't be turning it on he hung up. Don't think he'd of done that if he was genuine.

I also had someone call me claiming they were from my bank (my real bank only phone my mobile so I knew it was suspicious) and they wanted to check my details were still correct and asked me to go through them, I hung up on them but they kept trying to ring me back, eventually I phoned the BT nuisance call and they traced them to somewhere in India, after BT did that I never heard from them again so I guess it scared them off xx

 

[iceylou]

just got a call this morning saying my computer had a virus. i said i dont have a computer. he hung up. they rang back again and said it was on my laptop, at this point i was almost laughing. he said my virus protection (norton) was too old etc etc, i would need to pay for the upgrade over the phone (yeah right) for it. i said " really i didnt know that i had norton" he then started going through all the different virus protection packs. if this was a real and genuine company and they were remote accessing my laptop surely they would know what i had on it. i left him ramble on and at the end i said to go eff off and (fill in the blanks)

 

[mizzk]

Does anybody know what number they are calling from? I keep getting rang from a weird number... just 01218 and thats it! I searched online and some people says its a windows scam, not sure if its the same one as what you guys are getting! x