Telephone Scam (computer security)

[luskentyre]

Thought I'd warn everyone that this is doing the rounds again. They phone you up with claims of detecting unsafe (virus) activity on your computer. They then try to get you to run through some tests before trying to remotely control your computer. In this case the caller had a strong Indian accent.

It's all a scam. No genuine external organisation will ever contact you about what's happening on your computer. In addition, you should never consider giving remote access to anyone you don't know.

Please pass this on, especially to more vulnerable people who may not be so aware of how bogus this is.

[jacko]

had this a few years ago. played a cat n mouse game with the caller for about 15 minutes till she got pissed off with me and hung up.
but thinking it would be better to just hang up on them at the start

[Bill Fernie]

December 2011 thread on this
http://forum.caithness.org/showthread.php?164861-The-Microsoft-scammer-is-at-it-again!&highlight=virus+scam+computer

[humbug]

Just to let people know this has happened to me twice in the last 3 weeks and it sounded Indian

[Bill Fernie]

Highland council have now issued a warning -
http://www.caithness-business.co.uk/article.php?id=4489

[sweetpea]

I had a cold caller from Indian on the phone yesterday, put phone straight down,only reason I answered it was that the caller display was showing the number 01955 602624.

[squidge]

My parents who are both 78 were caught out by this. They are very clever. The computer mum and dad had was fairly new and the bloke on the phone knew where it had been bought.

My mum is no daftie and she got a london address a london phone number and a real looking website address and looked them up. The man she spoke to was incredibly plausible and persuasive. It cost them £90. They were so plausible it took me ages to persuade mum and dad it was a scam!!!!

Fortunately cos they paid with a credit card she got it back. She phoned the police and they referred her to The Met Police's IT crime people who took the details. She also phoned the man back on his "london" number and spoke to him .... Well tore him to shreds would be an accurate description.

They had remote accessed mums computer so they took it and got it checked out by a proper it company and nothing scary had happened but they changed all their passwords, their bank cards and everything and actually it shook my capable and smart mum up a bit. I think she was so cross with herself that she had been taken in - it really upset her:(

[emmz]

My nana had the guy screaming and shouting at her telling her she was a liar and everyone has a computer :s

[orkneycadian]

Scams like these are as continuous as the risks of pick pockets in big cities, emails from Nigerian widows looking for help disposing of their late husbands fortune and treading in dog doo on city pavements.

Take it as read that anyone cold calling you with anything is up to no good. Either trying to scam you out of your cash, or sell you double glazing/solar panels/PPI recovery.

[jacko]

I had a cold caller from Indian on the phone yesterday, put phone straight down,only reason I answered it was that the caller display was showing the number 01955 602624.

LOL. guess you did nt get your Indian takeaway then [lol]