Weird phone call! "online pc doctor" - Only thread on these scam calls please

RolandIRL

Parents got a call yesterday. It was dad who answered it and he's about the most non-computer person there is. he didn't have a clue what to do, and just said he didn't know anything about computers. indian guy started getting pissed off saying "I will tell you what to do". guy said he'd call back in an hour when mam came home, but they never did. wish i was there to take the call, be so funny just to play a really loud whistle

they're just getting numbers out of the phonebook, because they asked for my dad's name, and the only computer bought recently was for me in a different name from dell.

Fogmatic

Think I'll try being 'a bit deaf' if they ring again.
If I had a tractor, I'd ask them to wait while I turn 'it' on, take the phone with me, and go out and start it (which would require many attempts, vigorous use of a hammer, etc). And then play it by ear (if they're still there).

LFC5Times

Rang me yesterday again - clowns.

thorbarry

this happened to my brother in law tonight. When they asked for money to fix the computer he got suspicious and hung up, altho, the he gave the "tech support" guy control of the computer. How can i stop them from logging on to his computer again? get him to reset his Ip address?

Bobby42

got a call last night!

Caller: What opperating system do you use?

Me: who are you?

Caller: I'm calling to help you with your problems with internet explorer.

Me: Who do you work for?

Caller: Windows.

Me: You work for windows? :rolleyes:

Caller: Yes, you sent a error message to windows, we're calling you back. Turn on your computer.

Me: No, you're grand thanks.....hang up.

Bobby42

Got another call this morning! They knew my surname, wtf?
How would they get that?

rymus

this happened to a guy I know today. He recorded the call and kept them on the line for just shy of an hour. It's a long listen, but it's worth it.

http://soundcloud.com/dmphoto/support-call

RolandIRL

someone's been in After Hours :P

Jagged Toaster

got called twice today by a lovely indian man called mike
wouldnt take no for an answer even tho i told him i knew it was a scam.
he insisted otherwise and i hung up on him

IrishEmperor

I was told these numbers can only be blocked by Eircom at the request of Gardai.
I'm with TalkTalk in Dublin.
TalkTalk advised to log any calls and passed them on to the po-po.

my received calls so far:
001204 at 1600approx on 10th December 2010
00111111 at 1700 approx on 10th December 2010
00111111 at 1730 approx on 10th December 2010

Still no words with any Indians, I just answered with a hello and it disconnected each time.

Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation
Tel: +353 1 6663766

lil_lisa

rymus wrote: »

this happened to a guy I know today. He recorded the call and kept them on the line for just shy of an hour. It's a long listen, but it's worth it.

http://soundcloud.com/dmphoto/support-call

Oh you've made my day, "a wireless whatsit on the freelan freeway" ha ha, "internet robot keys", "the nebula patriot act", "I need the energy star". This guy is hilarious, the list is endless. Fair play.

jak/mar

rymus wrote: »

this happened to a guy I know today. He recorded the call and kept them on the line for just shy of an hour. It's a long listen, but it's worth it.

http://soundcloud.com/dmphoto/support-call

Very funny
How does he record it?

jack presley

We all laugh about taking the pi$$ out of these guys but unfortunately for every 1000 calls they make where we all laugh at them, they get through to someone who lets then onto their computer and pays them a few quid to do what they do.

A good business plan I think!

thorbarry

thorbarry wrote: »

this happened to my brother in law tonight. When they asked for money to fix the computer he got suspicious and hung up, altho, the he gave the "tech support" guy control of the computer. How can i stop them from logging on to his computer again? get him to reset his Ip address?

anybody have any advice? He hasnt turned his computer on since Thursday. I dont know if he turns it on will they still have access? Is there anything I can do?

Gadgetman496

thorbarry wrote: »

anybody have any advice? He hasnt turned his computer on since Thursday. I dont know if he turns it on will they still have access? Is there anything I can do?

Do you know which method they used to remote connect?

Was it Logmein, Windows remote Access? Can you find out?

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jak/mar

thorbarry wrote: »

anybody have any advice? He hasnt turned his computer on since Thursday. I dont know if he turns it on will they still have access? Is there anything I can do?

Suppose the best thing to do is disconnect from the internet (so they cant get access to his PC), uninstall any programs that they installed to allow them to gain access to his pc and check it with MalwareBytes.

Jimmy444

I got a call this morning from a young lady from "Serwice Prowiders for Vindows". She said she was going to help me with all the Vindows errors I am having (:eek:) She sounded so cute and convincing that I thought what the heck and let her into my system to do her thing. It's great, all those messy icons on my desktop are cleared away, when you click on Start there's only one thing to choose from now so that's good too. And my disk is now nice and empty, as is my bank account.

Serously though, as soon as I quizzed her with just a couple of questions about her company and who they were she abruptly hung up. Caller ID showed "Unavailable". I'll advise anyone I know to watch out for these.

Naikon

Tell them you run Linux or something obscure like an Amiga. I doubt they will want to speak to you then.

thorbarry

gadgetman496 wrote: »

Do you know which method they used to remote connect?

Was it Logmein, Windows remote Access? Can you find out?

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ill find out, and get back

bhickey

gadgetman496 wrote: »

Do you know which method they used to remote connect? Was it Logmein, Windows remote Access? Can you find out?

There's a transcript of a call here

They hook you in by getting you to open Event Viewer and telling you that all the Red and Yellow indicators mean that your computer has been hecked. Then they get you to open the C:\WINDOWS\inf folder and tell you that all the files in there are further evidence of hacking.

If you're still with them then they get you go to www.logmein123.com and enter a 6-digit code. After that they are in control of your PC.

Gadgetman496

bhickey wrote: »

There's a transcript of a call here

They hook you in by getting you to open Event Viewer and telling you that all the Red and Yellow indicators mean that your computer has been hecked. Then they get you to open the C:\WINDOWS\inf folder and tell you that all the files in there are further evidence of hacking.

If you're still with them then they get you go to www.logmein123.com and enter a 6-digit code. After that they are in control of your PC.

Tell your friend to go to Add\Remove Programs in the control panel and uninstall any reference to Logmein or Logmein123

yoyo

Logmein.com are a legit company, I wonder if enough complaints to them could be made they will terminate the scammers accounts, I'm sure it wouldn't take long for them to find the scammers account... Business in india doing allot of remote access support to irish ips etc..

Nick

blackdog2

Naikon wrote: »

Tell them you run Linux or something obscure like an Amiga. I doubt they will want to speak to you then.

God forbid they gain access to my Atari Jaguar :eek:

Gadgetman496

yoyo wrote: »

Logmein.com are a legit company, I wonder if enough complaints to them could be made they will terminate the scammers accounts, I'm sure it wouldn't take long for them to find the scammers account... Business in india doing allot of remote access support to irish ips etc..

Nick

Logmein is indeed a legit company & excellent at what it does too.

I use them all the time for genuine remote connect for support reasons & find it an invaluable service.

The problem with these scammers is that they are more than likely not in breach of Logmein T&C's

If unsuspecting users receive the call & are naive enough to allow them access? then it's nobody's fault but their own.

This scam has been around for a very long time and warnings about it have been flogged to death on mediums such as the Internet, Forums, Radio shows, TV shows & Print media too.

Anyone not aware of it at this stage are not really on this planet?

Common sense is the key here? If you have a leaking pipe you call a plumber, the plumber does not call you!

Anyone receiving these type of calls should hang up immediately without entertaining these ass ho*es in any way whatsoever.

The errors these Muppets refer to in the even viewer are 100% normal for the Windows Operating system & will appear on every Windows machine. That's why they choose this tactic because they know it will show error events every time & for those not familiar with it? it can be a tad concerning.

There really isn't any more to say on this issue at this stage.

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Dermot Illogical

thorbarry wrote: »

anybody have any advice? He hasn't turned his computer on since Thursday. I dont know if he turns it on will they still have access? Is there anything I can do?

If he turns it on they will have access. Changing IP won't do anything. He needs to get it repaired properly. They've had full access and may have done many things to allow them continued control. They aren't using malware so a scan isn't going to find out what they were at.
If he decides to have a go himself he'll need to find what they've installed and uninstall it, and also to turn off remote access. Turning off Windows Restore would be a good idea too so the problems don't get reintroduced. Once satisfied that it's back to normality, put it back on the interwebs and run Wireshark or similar to make sure the PC isn't calling home to Mammy. I'd not be doing any online banking on it though...

patentseven

Dublindave2 wrote: »

Has anyone tried to claim a refund on a credit card based on the fact that these people don't actually exist.

be like trying to win the crooked Irish lottery

bhickey

patentseven wrote: »

be like trying to win the crooked Irish lottery

Your credit card company WILL refund you whatever you have been charged as long as you notify them within a reasonable amount of time. People should notify their credit card company, it's as good a way as any of stopping these crooks.

ART6

Ring Ring.

"Hello?"
"Good morning Mrs XXX. This is PC Doctor. We have detected that your computer has a virus and..."

Interruption in a robotic sounding male voice...

"You have called the anti-phishing number of International Computer Security plc. This is one of ten thousand such numbers we maintain world wide. You call has been recorded and your IP address has been traced to origin. The recording and the IP address have now been forwarded automatically to Interpol. Thank you for calling ICS."

Click

Hopefully someone in Calcutta or wherever has now got brown trousers under his brown bum:p

Captain Havoc

Just got a call from microsoft there about the problems I've been experiencing with vindows.

ART6

Captain Havoc wrote: »

Just got a call from microsoft there about the problems I've been experiencing with vindows.

If everyone with problems with Windows were to be called by Microsoft then they must have one hell of a phone bill!