Unsolicited Phone Calls Re Computer Problems

[gardenmad]

Please can anyone help me? I have just received a phone call from a company, I could not make out where he said, he had such a thick accent, he said there were many problems on my computer, he then went on to list them, on my desk top, I could see there were lots of trojans and errors, he said they could fix them it would cost £119.00 which I do not want to pay, more worrying is that he obviously could get on to my computer - he even knew the phone number - we are ex directory!! It was a thing called
log-me-in-rescue - and they said they were from pc wizards. Are they bona fide and just want to make a living or am I in real trouble? Please help!

[SeaJayPea]

I always say 'that's strange - I'm a Microsoft service engineer'. Except I normally only get as far as 'That's strange - I'm a Microso.......' before the phone goes down.

[Alston]

Yes, this scam has been around for ages.

My reaction to such a phone call might be...." Oh, is it on one of my two 'Desktops' or on one of the four laptops which the children have, because one never can tell what sites they visit."

Anyway, I think other folk have given you good advice as regards running 'Malwarebytes' etc to make sure nothing nasty has been left in your computer.

[VHG]

gardenmad, you have learned a good lesson.

DONT BELIEVE PEOPLE WHO PHONE YOU UP OUT THE BLUE.

Even if they say they are your bank, British telecom, Microsoft, or anyone else.

And certainly DONT type things into your computer that they ask you to type.

[gardenmad]

Thank you all, I have certainly learned my lesson!! I have never done anything like this before, he said he was from PC world and ages ago I got a desktop from there. He was so realistic. He was a bit difficult to understand as I think he was Indian or something and he had a very thick accent. So did his 'technology engineer' who followed him. I should have asked him to send me an email with his requests. Never again......

[boxtops]

I hope you didnt give him any money, gardenmad.....

[carrust]

I got caller ID put on my phone last year. Any 0800 & withheld numbers get ignored. It's really worth the £1-65/month that I pay to Virgin Media.

[boxtops]

we've got caller preference - again a paid-for service, but it's really cut out marketing phone calls and the spam calls.

[Alston]

Good job you didn't ask him to send you an e/mail. Bugs often arrive by e/mail. Furthermore, if you should get unsolicited e/mail, never open any attachment which could contain a virus.

[Jasminio]

Total scam. I have had these too. When I tell them that I don't actually have a computer, they just hang up. Abruptly. Can't think why.

As earlier post, if you don't know them and they ring you out of the blue, then it's exactly as bogus as someone who rings to tell you that you've won a foreign lottery without buying a ticket.

So many scammers take advantage of our vagueness about technology, it's easy to believe.

[EDDIE51]

Scam , Scam. Scam
One of the best known scams, I am surprised anyone still falls for it.

[Alston]

Just a follow-on to my earlier posting:-

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/email/viruses/

[corneliafaust]

Definitely a scam! Don't be fooled. There's no way an anonymous caller can see what's on your computer when he's only over the phone. I've received calls like that and it just don't make sense.

[corneliafaust]

Definitely a scam! Don't be fooled. There's no way an anonymous caller can see what's on your computer when he's only over the phone. I've received calls like that and the first time I heard what the caller had to say, I knew it was a bluff right away. Although I had a different impression about the call the first time. I thought it was just some telemarketer trying to close a sale and they're bluffing their way to it. Little did I know that scammers also do used it to perpetrate a scam and get the victims' bank information.

[corneliafaust]

If you still have the caller's phone number, I strongly suggest you report that to http://www.callercenter.com and raise a warning. It helps a lot when people know which phone numbers were used in a scam.

[LittleHal]

No - just ignore these idiots. They are just trying to screw money out of you.
As to being ex-directory - are you sure you still are? We thought we were (have been ex-directory for years AND registered with the Telephone Preference Service), but then started getting a lot of nuisance calls. It turned out we were now IN the directory because British Telecom no longer had responsibility for the entries which had been passed to the service provider which, in our case, was Virgin Media. Either BT or Virgin, or both, are idiots for not liasing over ex-directory entries! BUT, even worse, directories are now all over the internet so any idiot can call you up and be a pest. And the TPS can't take action against calls from abroad.
Just set up a firewall (we use Comodo free version) and install an Anti-Virus program on your PC and scan any programs that you download.

If they call again just keep them chatting for as long as you like (the're paying for the call), then tell them to stick up their backside.

If it does turn out that you are now in the directory, call your provider and get it removed - tho' it will take years before it filters through to the internet copies.
The other option is to buy a phone and pay for caller ID then, if you don't recognise the callers number you can just ignore it!