Virus phone scam being run from call centres in India

[DorsetBoy]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/18/phone-scam-india-call-centres



Britons targeted by cold callers pretending to be from Microsoft phoning to fix a fake computer problem

The scam always starts the same way: the phone rings at someone's home, and the caller – usually with an Indian accent – asks for the householder, quoting their name and address before saying "I'm calling for Microsoft. We've had a report from your internet service provider of serious virus problems from your computer."

Dire forecasts are made that if the problem is not solved, the computer will become unusable.

The puzzled owner is then directed to their computer, and asked to open a program called "Windows Event Viewer". Its contents are, to the average user, worrying: they look like a long list of errors, some labelled "critical". "Yes, that's it," says the caller. "Now let me guide you through the steps to fixing it."

The computer owner is directed to a website and told to download a program that hands over remote control of the computer, and the caller "installs" various "fixes" for the problem. And then it's time to pay a fee: £185 for a "subscription" to the "preventative service".

The only catch: there was never anything wrong with the computer, the caller is not working for Microsoft or the internet service provider, and the owner has given a complete stranger access to every piece of data on their machine.

An investigation by the Guardian has established that this scam, which has been going on quietly since 2008 but has abruptly grown in scale this year, is being run from call centres based in Kolkata, by teams believed to have access to sales databases from computer and software companies....... (more)

[Gary]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/18/phone-scam-india-call-centres



Britons targeted by cold callers pretending to be from Microsoft phoning to fix a fake computer problem

What amazes me Dorset is people fall for it, but there are many vulnerable people who still believe all they are told is gospel, like the woman in the week who was scammed by some guy she met on I believe an internet dating site. How many times do companies say, we never contact you in this manner? I must admit I would love to have that call, Since I use OSX, but I have had BT fake scam calls before, the trouble is its makes you so wary that when the good guys do phone to say your credit card has been abused for instance, you dont believe them! 

[Rik]

People really do need to learn something about computing, not to mention the Data Protection Act.

[Gary]

People really do need to learn something about computing, not to mention the Data Protection Act.

It all comes back to dumb terminals and courses to be taken before you get a PC of any kind  people being the weakest link cause the most problems.

[DorsetBoy]

It all comes back to dumb terminals and courses to be taken before you get a PC of any kind  people being the weakest link cause the most problems.

That and the fact that so many that sell PC's etc. are utterly clueless themselves. The first machine we had was sold on the basis that it was fully internet ready and needed nothing else other than a modem.............. there was no AV or firewall included , I knew no different and the machine was infected within seconds of being plugged in.


Funny how much you can learn when you need to.

[Rik]

Funny how much people don't bother to learn, Dorset.

[Gary]

That and the fact that so many that sell PC's etc. are utterly clueless themselves. The first machine we had was sold on the basis that it was fully internet ready and needed nothing else other than a modem.............. there was no AV or firewall included , I knew no different and the machine was infected within seconds of being plugged in.


Funny how much you can learn when you need to.

Very true, a friend of mine bought years ago a horrid Packard bell, and I mean horrid, he was infected within minutes and was told it was internet ready, the trouble with him was he went a tad over board with two firewalls (software) and tow AV's which made the machine crash and do some amazingly bad things. People buy a PC and just go "what next" help is really needed to show them what to do and how to help themselves, but with the occasional FP from  spyware programs and AV's that causes more confusion and distrust, I have known people who never patch Windows as they think the updates are a virus 

[Gary]

Funny how much people don't bother to learn, Dorset.

Even though Google is evil, it can be your friend, with a PC or  a Mac or Linux you have to learn, but the trouble is people want a simple computing experience and there is no such thing yet.

[Rik]

Except with some users.

[Simon]

With you on the credit card calls, Gary.  I always ask for a full name, then call them back through the usual number. 

Harsh, maybe, but if people fall for this phone scam, they almost deserve to.

[pctech]

What amazes me Dorset is people fall for it, but there are many vulnerable people who still believe all they are told is gospel, like the woman in the week who was scammed by some guy she met on I believe an internet dating site. How many times do companies say, we never contact you in this manner? I must admit I would love to have that call, Since I use OSX, but I have had BT fake scam calls before, the trouble is its makes you so wary that when the good guys do phone to say your credit card has been abused for instance, you dont believe them! 

If I get a call claiming to be from a company I have dealings with such as bank or credit card I generally say its not convenient to talk and I'll call them back, I then phone the customer service number and check whether they were indeed trying to call me and check the number I was given to call back.

[Rik]

Wise move, Mitch.

[pctech]

I tend to fall foul of the fraud checks when using my cards running up to Christmas as don't use them that much through the year.

[nowster]

I have them calling about 2-3 times a week, even though the number is listed on the TPS. One recent one even left a voicemail (which I still have), giving a Bradford number to call them back.

http://bethyngalw.nowster.me.uk/phonespam.mp3

[Rik]

Novel...

[DorsetBoy]

I have them calling about 2-3 times a week, even though the number is listed on the TPS. One recent one even left a voicemail (which I still have), giving a Bradford number to call them back.

http://bethyngalw.nowster.me.uk/phonespam.mp3

They all bounce off my line now I have the call blocker running, it is amazing to see the list of numbers that "hung up at whisper".

Best thing I ever bought.

[Gary]

They all bounce off my line now I have the call blocker running, it is amazing to see the list of numbers that "hung up at whisper".

Best thing I ever bought.

Im not sure I could justify the expense but it does sound great, as long as my careline fits it would be quite useful tbh, even using the TPS I still get more marketing calls now than I ever did before.

[DorsetBoy]

Im not sure I could justify the expense but it does sound great, as long as my careline fits it would be quite useful tbh, even using the TPS I still get more marketing calls now than I ever did before.

You can create a list of allowed numbers which will not be affected by the blocker. There are also varying degrees of filtration that you set to suit your needs.

[Gary]

You can create a list of allowed numbers which will not be affected by the blocker. There are also varying degrees of filtration that you set to suit your needs.

It does sound tempting its a pain when the phone goes off and its a "you have won bla bla" or "have you got five minutes to do a survey"

[Tacitus]

..........the trouble is its makes you so wary that when the good guys do phone to say your credit card has been abused for instance, you dont believe them! 

Happened to me.  I got an automated call advising me that there 'were problems with my credit card'.  The call then asked me to input various details to confirm I was the owner of the card. 

If anything smelt 'scam' this did, but as I kept getting the call eventually I rang the Bank directly.  It turned out it was genuine and that someone had got hold of the card number and the Bank wanted me to confirm which of the transactions were authorised.

Fortunately the card is used exclusively for online and phone transactions and has a low limit so they didn't get away with much.  To this day I have no idea where or how they got the card number.  I can only assume someone I did business with got hacked.

[Rik]

Or had dishonest staff, Tac...

[pctech]

Unless I absolutely have to I never order things by phone as if you order from a webserver it can minimise the chances of the dishonest operator collecting numbers.

[Rik]

There are some firms I trust, not many though.

[pctech]

When I was going to go to Top Gear Live the people I went with were all able to book their tickets online but because I needed access to the disabled area I couldn't.

It took me a week and several phone calls to secure the ticket as there was only one person in the company that handled disabled ticket sales.