View Full Version : Phone calls about computer virus
Just wondering has anyone else had a phone call saying tha their computer has a virus, myself and my mother in law both got a call today saying that our computer has a virus and they wanted us to switch on our computer, she got a short shift from us both.
Oh dear have they started again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
gmcborgie
12-Jan-11, 16:47
It's a con, it was in the papers a while ago, they take over your computer and steal all your info and passwords and then use them or sell them on.
Thanks for the info thats terrible.
Had one of these last summer, http://www.techeye.net/security/microsoft-scam-comes-to-a-phone-near-you
i got one the other day also
shamrock2007
12-Jan-11, 21:16
Had this phonecall last week, told the guy I was an IT specialist & asked him a heap of questions, phone quickly went dead! lol
Just wondering has anyone else had a phone call saying tha their computer has a virus, myself and my mother in law both got a call today saying that our computer has a virus and they wanted us to switch on our computer, she got a short shift from us both.
Hi, I received a phone call on Saturday. The caller had my name and said my computer had a serious virus that I would not be aware of. Having no problem at all with my new laptop I asked where she was calling from and she replied Microsoft. I thought it was dodgy as when I did have a virus with my old laptop I got on with getting it fixed with no phone call! When I said thanks for the phone call and goodbye the caller hung up! Well dodgy!
George Brims
20-Jan-11, 01:08
They should make this a Sticky thread. These things crop up every few months. I posted a reply to a similar thread back in August, when I was at my mum-in-law's house in Inverness, and got to exercise my vocabulary on one of those scammers (the benefits of a Week HS education!).
last time they called i told them i didnt have internet.. so how was i to get a virus? i love hearing them back-pedal.. its great fun..
or my fav. one.. i dont have a computer at all.. i think next time they call.. im going to go completely blonde and say something to the likes of.. a virus? oh no.. let me check its temp.. it does look a bit flushed.. to you think paracetamol will do the trick?
This has been going on for a while , last year i got a call from "log me in 123" this is a bogus site and on the internet!!! but other names will be used, they start the conversation by saying that they have noticed a virus on the computer and then ask for you to let them "take over" remotely your computer, if you allow , this to happen , they will then trace all passwords and bank details etc, etc, and/or put a "back door" trojan in to your system, just do not let them in to your system at all, even if they insist that they are microsoft or any other big name, all these calls come from overseas call centres mostly indian with, with held numbers and untraceable . Just tell anyone on the phone that says that your computer has a virus or anything else, "to go forth and multiply" and even if its on a sunday!!!
I just let them speak to the "computer expert" in our house (Lauren age 4) on speaker phone for a while, while I do the dishes or other house stuff whith her in the same room as me of course!
Wastes their time and Lauren loves getting hold of the phone..:lol:
oldmarine
20-Jan-11, 15:57
Some good comments on this thread about the subject. We continuously have that problem here in the USA. Too many people out there who are hackers, etc., who try many devious ways to get your information to use against you.
oldmarine
20-Jan-11, 16:00
I just let them speak to the "computer expert" in our house (Lauren age 4) on speaker phone for a while, while I do the dishes or other house stuff whith her in the same room as me of course!
Wastes their time and Lauren loves getting hold of the phone..:lol:
Some very good comments on this thread about the subject. This one is a classic. We have the same problem in the USA with hackers, etc., trying to get your information to use against you.
This has been going on for a while , last year i got a call from "log me in 123" this is a bogus site and on the internet!!! but other names will be used, they start the conversation by saying that they have noticed a virus on the computer and then ask for you to let them "take over" remotely your computer, if you allow , this to happen , they will then trace all passwords and bank details etc, etc, and/or put a "back door" trojan in to your system, just do not let them in to your system at all, even if they insist that they are microsoft or any other big name, all these calls come from overseas call centres mostly indian with, with held numbers and untraceable . Just tell anyone on the phone that says that your computer has a virus or anything else, "to go forth and multiply" and even if its on a sunday!!!
OK, first off Logmein is a reputable site, and the logmein123 site is the access portal for the logmein rescue software. They no longer use logmein software after LogMeIn received numerous compliants and shut down the accounts and have now moved over to other remote access software such as TeamViewer and others.
What they actually do is telephone you at random and make you access the Event Viewer log which will always show warnings and errors. This they will say is evidence of a virus infection and they will claim to be able to fix it for £200. They then sell you other 3rd party software which you can buy yourself for £20 online and install it on your PC. They will then leave the remote access software on your machine which will allow them back onto your machine whenever they want it. They do not need to install trojans or similar.
They are confidence tricksters that sell software for vastly over-inflated prices and fool you into allowing them unhindered access to your machine. Make sure you warn any elderly relatives or friends with PCs of this scam as they are the ones most easily taken in. Just ask them for their number, and if they ask why say so you can pass it on to the police. They will not phone back.
Scam merchants and cold callers usually ring when I'm having my tea. Depending on what mood I'm in or how mischievous I'm feeling, I react in different ways. I can either tell them to Go forth and multiply, then hang up or give them a blast of the Acme Thunderer then hang up. Other times I tell them to hang on a minute as theres someone at the door, leave the phone off the hook and go and finish my tea. If I'm in a particularly good mood I'll be very civilised to them, then ask them to excuse me for a minute, half cover the mouthpiece and hiss across the room, just loud enough for them to hear " Mop that blood up now" and "Get rid of that body" or something along those lines then just continue the conversation with a "Sorry about that, where were we"? Next time I'm planning a feigned heart attack.
oldmarine
22-Jan-11, 19:09
Scam merchants and cold callers usually ring when I'm having my tea. Depending on what mood I'm in or how mischievous I'm feeling, I react in different ways. I can either tell them to Go forth and multiply, then hang up or give them a blast of the Acme Thunderer then hang up. Other times I tell them to hang on a minute as theres someone at the door, leave the phone off the hook and go and finish my tea. If I'm in a particularly good mood I'll be very civilised to them, then ask them to excuse me for a minute, half cover the mouthpiece and hiss across the room, just loud enough for them to hear " Mop that blood up now" and "Get rid of that body" or something along those lines then just continue the conversation with a "Sorry about that, where were we"? Next time I'm planning a feigned heart attack.
All kinds of ways to handle these type of calls. The above are good ones. There was a time I handed the phone to my young son. When he startled gigling I would have liked to have seen that person's face.
Or just speak to them in some made up foreign language.
How on earth would anyone on the end of a phone know that someone's computer had a virus? I bet they even get people who don't have a computer. lol
wrightchatterbox
23-Jan-11, 21:02
I got one of these calls a couple of months ago. They told me that my computer had sent them messages of errors!!! Although I was very suspitious and a little frightened that they could so easily go to the remote on my computer! How do we stop them gaining entry again? Now I am worried that they are still able to go in to my computer whenever they want! Help :(
billmoseley
24-Jan-11, 12:56
one of my favs to deal with these callers is to say they have got though to the morgue you should hear them splutter then
SunnyChick
24-Jan-11, 13:55
2 weeks ago, while I was browsing online I somehow managed to pick up a virus, despite having anti-virus protection! The virus installed itself and disabled our anti-virus software. Eventually "himsel" (other half) managed to get it sorted. *shew*
Then came the call.... a few days after... I was given the usual patter, "Your computer has a virus and would you like to hear about the latest software to protect yourself from loss of valuable data, etc?"
Thing is, our telephone number is not available to folks for tele-sales, and we opt to not have our name listed on the edited electoral roll thingy which I believe is used for similar purposes. So how did they get our number? I asked, and was told... wait for it...
"we have all numbers of people who are registered/licenced for microsoft"!
I suspect, that this is the very same crew who "infected" us in the first place, calling to sell us the cure! Blooming crooks! [evil]
h.miller1@sky.com
24-Jan-11, 19:12
Hi i also got a phone call last week exact same, i started shouting at the man online then put down my phone, beware as it was my daughter who answered the phone first.
I got one of these calls a couple of months ago. They told me that my computer had sent them messages of errors!!! Although I was very suspitious and a little frightened that they could so easily go to the remote on my computer! How do we stop them gaining entry again? Now I am worried that they are still able to go in to my computer whenever they want! Help :(
2 weeks ago, while I was browsing online I somehow managed to pick up a virus, despite having anti-virus protection! The virus installed itself and disabled our anti-virus software. Eventually "himsel" (other half) managed to get it sorted. *shew*
Then came the call.... a few days after... I was given the usual patter, "Your computer has a virus and would you like to hear about the latest software to protect yourself from loss of valuable data, etc?"
Thing is, our telephone number is not available to folks for tele-sales, and we opt to not have our name listed on the edited electoral roll thingy which I believe is used for similar purposes. So how did they get our number? I asked, and was told... wait for it...
"we have all numbers of people who are registered/licenced for microsoft"!
I suspect, that this is the very same crew who "infected" us in the first place, calling to sell us the cure! Blooming crooks! [evil]
well then you shouldn't be surfing the internet with an account that is an 'administrator'
you give permission automatically for the 'java/activeX' to run, hence these things get installed in the background without you knowledge.
make a new user called ADMIN
log off
and log-on under ADMIN
then go to users and set everyone else as limited users.
dx
Argh this thing again, it's been going on for like 3 years now. Usually someone with a dodgy accent calls you up and tries to convince you everything in the Windows prefetch folder is indicative of malware or some other thing, I think there's three variants. They'll then connect remotely and charge you to fix it and if you're really lucky they won't turn your computer into a zombie or steal your identity.
I've been wanting to get this call for a while now, I'd probably troll them and pretend to be the most clueless user that ever existed and see if they crack, either that or setup a VM and dissect what they do because that's just how I roll.
This site (http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk/supportonclick-systemrecure-scam) seems to have the best information on them along with recorded calls.
ye a few weeks ago again someone foned me a foriegn lady tried to tell me the same story i just hung up on her my daughter had the same fone call as well and a few of her friends if she had not told me about this scam i would of not been any the wiser.Wot a shower of f****** out there what is the world coming too,where has trust gone is it the sign of the times or is it just some dishonest folk??????????????????????
SunnyChick
25-Jan-11, 16:02
well then you shouldn't be surfing the internet with an account that is an 'administrator'
Am sure that is sound advice, thanks. However, my other half does all that stuff, I just switch it on and use it. :lol:
orkneycadian
25-Jan-11, 19:19
Still waiting for the call, but when it comes, I hope to be by the computer with this web page (http://www.vavasour.ca/jeff/ts1000/) at the ready.....
Them - "OK Sir, can you click on START for me...."
Me - "Uh, what key is that on?"
Them - "In the bottom left of the screen should be the START button"
Me - "Nope, just the "K" cursor....."
Them - "Hmmm, OK, can you click on it?"
Me - "Eh? What do you mean "Click on it"?
......
......
......
Will see how long that can keep going for before they get pee'd off and hang up!
well when you bank account is emptied because of it
dont come crying.
its simple to check , even for a novice.
start/control panel/users
if you are an administrator
simply click the other box
limited user
then log-off and on
however, make sure there is another user that is listed that has admin rights though
else hit create new user
call it admin
give it password
and do the same as above with your rights
dx
canadagirl
04-Feb-11, 00:03
I just got one of these calls - from the UK !! So where did she get my unlisted # when the only person I've given it to is a b&b in Thurso? Creepy. For what it's worth the # it came from is 44000021631
They don't know your number. For example if you change the last digit of your own number and ring it; you'll get someone...
Yeah, they'll be guessing or even brute forcing them using a PBX starting at say 01955 600000 and dialling all through to 01955 609999. A decent PBX can fake the origin number so they could just randomise it each time.
i had a phone call like this last week, the woman, who wasnt british, informed me i had reported my computer as running slow, and that the windows engineers needed me to turn it on so they could help with the problem, i knew then something was up, so i asked her which computer had the problem as we have our main pc and 2 laptops in the house, she got a little flustered, and so oh just turn it on, so i was polite NOT lol, and hung up on her, scamming ignorant idiots, try harder next time, mind you there most likely will be a few that fall for it.
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