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

robinph

Have not had the PC virus scam call in a while now, we did get a new variation of it though. I was told that I had been in a car accident at some point in the last three years and there was £3000 in damages for me to collect. He just needed some details about when this crash was etc. He didn't seem to like it when I suggested that he was the one who brought up the topic of a crash that maybe he should be the one telling me when it was.

Kept chatting with him for 10 minutes at least though before I got bored and told him that his name was not Keith. He then hung up.

haymur

got a few of these calls in Dec & Jan they asked me to go to my computer I smelled a rat and kept asking who they were and where they got my name. No feed back.so I said goodbye. On further calls I said my computer was in work or I had no computer . this ended the call each time . What annoyed me was over the two months I had the phone ring most days and no body there when you answered. They must do a multi dial and whoever answers fist takes the call. Caller display always shows 111111 so check it before you answer.

Thanos

Well I got one of these calls yesterday. Girl telling me they (but did not say who they were) had noticed my system was about to be attacked and that my system would shut down.

"Oh really", I said. "But I am using Norton"

"That's no good" she said and started going on about firewalls and stuff.

Eventually i stopped her and said, "Hang on, I am a software engineer and I know exactly how my system is set up"

Silence for a few seconds........................
Followed by "Well your system is going to crash" and she hung up!

It is all a scam to either get you to give them your bank details so they can "fix" it or to give them a link into your machine where they can get all you ID and passwords.

Remember, just say NO!

darkest star2379

your looking at one scammed person..i fell for it hook line and sinker.....
lookk im not very computer literate but im feeling physically sick reading theese posts about how this cam works ..and ive spent all morning changing paaswords and stuff from my house computer.
ive disabled log me in and also the remote settings but im scared that theese buggers are gonna hack into my computer .....

ive cancelled my credit card but does anyone know if i cancel the transaction , what will happen ...

MLMwatch

Make sure that the credit card company has a record that you have notified them that the transaction was fraudulent. They should then cancel it. If that isn't clear to them the transaction could show up as an outstanding debit on a closed card IF the transaction was initiated when the card was live.

Do not depend on a phone call. Write them a letter with with all the info. Fax it to them then post it.

Hope that helps,

signed - an ex bank IT consultant

PS - If you are in and around Dublin I could have a look at your system for you.

ART6

I thought I had got rid of these people, not having heard from them for some time and having shouted at them the last time. But then I had two calls from them last week and another call yesterday.

Given that law enforcement agencies have in the past managed to track and prosecute the occasional virus creator, I wonder why they can't track these people. Surely it would be possible to set up a sting in some way? If the calls are, as they sound, from India, should not the Indian government be showing interest? After all, if these people manage to scam access to credit cards etc and use them, I would assume they must be traceable. No-one can hide forever.

Psychobabble

After being contacted by this crowd a few weeks ago, I did exactly what the guy at ComReg advised me and warned people I knew about it. I'm glad I did, as my father, in his mid-70s, was contacted by them today and knew exactly what to do. I'm afraid if I hadn't told him about it, he would have fallen victim to the scam. So continue to spread the word!

prioryc

just had another call here ...from pc doctor ...Name: Gary Smith accent: Indian after he told me his name i couldn't hold a serious convo i just fell around laughing end of call.

jack presley

ART6 wrote: »

I thought I had got rid of these people, not having heard from them for some time and having shouted at them the last time. But then I had two calls from them last week and another call yesterday.

Me too. Up until this call I just hung up but this time i dragged it out for a while, questioning where they were (Smithfield apparently), who their phone provider was as the line was bad and the usual how do I find the start button on my computer etc.

It all went well until he got a bit annoyed when i asked him did he still sleep with his sister?

They never phoned me back after I told them our PCs run Linux.... although there's no one here all day anymore, it's the principle! I feel so left out.

Nothingbetter2d

lol its only taken several months for microsoft to issue a warning of this scam.

got this emailed to my hotmail ac today


Dear Windows Live User,
Microsoft Ireland and the National Consumer Agency would like to warn you of a scam that is currently active in the Irish marketplace. Irish consumers are receiving telephone calls from persons claiming to be from Microsoft, or working on behalf of Microsoft, to tell them they have a virus on their computer.

Details of the Scam:
• Consumers are cold called from someone claiming to be from Microsoft and told there is a problem with their computer and offered help to solve the computer problems.
• Once the caller has gained the consumer's trust, they ask consumers to log onto a website to download a file to help solve the problem.
• They then ask for credit card details for a package which will fix the virus. They also potentially attempt to steal from the person by accessing personal information on their computer. In addition to gaining access to your personal details, they can also infect your computer with damaging viruses and spyware.

Microsoft takes the privacy and security of our customers and partners personal information very seriously. We are advising customers to treat all unsolicited phone calls with skepticism and not to provide any personal information to anyone over the phone or online. Anyone who receives an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft should hang up. We can assure you Microsoft does not make these kinds of calls.

We have been working closely with the Irish authorities including An Gardai Siochana, the Data Protection Commissioner, ComReg and the National Consumer Agency to warn the public and investigate the perpetrators. If you have provided details of your credit card to any of these companies, we would advise you to cancel your card immediately through your bank.

For more information on this scam and how to protect yourself against this, please click here:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/fraud/phishing/Msname.aspx

Please feel free to report any of these calls to the National Consumer Agency on 1890 432 432 or get further information on www.nca.ie

Microsoft respects your privacy. Please read our online Privacy Statement. If you would prefer to no longer receive promotional offers or research emails from MSN, Windows Live or Bing, please click here.

To set your contact preferences for other Microsoft communications, see the communications preferences section of the Microsoft Privacy Statement.
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052

Gadgetman496

Deleted User wrote: »

They never phoned me back after I told them our PCs run Linux.... although there's no one here all day anymore, it's the principle! I feel so left out.

So you beat the PC scammers?

Hope you have the same luck with potential house burglars

That's the strange thing about security, there's always a weak link somewhere in the chain

-

kearneybobs

Got that email from Microsoft as well yesterday too.

patentseven

Lots of us got that e-mail from MS. National Consumer Agency? They don't do anything - they just get paid for doing nothing - E8.6m per year apparently. The cops are the only ones capable of doing something about it.

yiddo59

Just had one of those lads on again. I vary between effing and blinding at them or just saying "Computer? What computer? I don;t have one" Used that today and Stephen the Indian thanked me and hung up!

dublinbusdude

Me and my brother got the email too

ratedR

Got one of these calls today.

Started off (with a heavy, possibly african accent) by asking If I was Mrs. xxxx (my mam) I answered by telling him, well no, I'm a male for a start. Off he went anyway, so Mrs. xxxx I am from Microsoft...

I really wanted to drag out the conversation and run him in circles but It annoyed me so much I just cut in and abused him from a height before telling him I knew who he was and where he was, and he hung up.

Zatoichi

Got called today too. I wonder if they're just going through the phone book or if they have more specific access to Windows owner's details.

kerash

Seems like this is gonna be on Crimeline tonight!
There's a Guard On rte 1 now previewing it - i missed if they mentioned online pc doctor but the same thing.
These guys are gaining access to your computer and credit card

Zatoichi

kerash wrote: »

Seems like this is gonna be on Crimeline tonight!
There's a Guard On rte 1 now previewing it - i missed if they mentioned online pc doctor but the same thing.
These guys are gaining access to your computer and credit card

They must be going through the phonebook annoying everyone at this rate. http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=7012

keaves

Aww had a lovely converstaion today with stephen the indian microsoft technician telling me I had a virus Was having such a **** day and Stephen kindly let me release all my anger and frustration!
firstly he asked for my mam who wasnt there so i asked could i take a message, he asked who was speaking i said me :rolleyes: he prceeded to tell me 'I' had a virus on my laptop, i kindly asked was he not looking for my mam when he called, he was quite insistant it was actually my computer that had the virus, stephen must of been having a bad day too and forgot who he was calling! silly stephen! had a great back and forth conversation, him insisting i turn on my laptop and he'll show me the virus! had a great convo for a good ten mins until stephen must of had to go cus the phone cut out!! :D:D:D

Seriously it was great messing with him for a while!

Mr Magners

This was on Crimecall last night with a recording of an actual call where a fella fell for the scam. He was caught out as they phoned him not long after he'd had difficulty downloading a MS update of some kind. Pure coincidence and very unlucky.

Only while we were watching it my wife tells me she answered the phone in her sister's house recently and it was some lady from India telling her there was a problem with their PC. Didn't think anything of it at the time until we saw that last night.

dublinbusdude

I was watching it too, the girl from Mircosoft said about their Anti-Virus which I downloaded last night and believe me or not its much better than AVG Free as It did a Quick Virus Check within an hour par with AVG Free that took about 2hrs to run

innthe

does anyone know their number?I want to give them a call and make them real mad, why dont any scammers call me the lazy bolixes

pslat

Heh just watched the highlights of Andy driving some 'onlinepccare' scam support guys to their limits. It'd be hard to beat his record 70 mins. Video highlights in 3 parts on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXjmmbDV1bk or search for andy66thnet.
- it's not pretty...but it's funny. If only everyone could afford the time to do this when they call .

mach1982

Just had one those idiots on the the phone . Told me I have virus . I said it impossible and it was scam I run Linux on all my machines . I was I was smarter than him , told him the call was been tracked , and he called me a "****" , so started speaking Irish like the Clarsberg ad, just random words, Told him if he calls again I'll call the cops .

The_B_Man

first time they called me, i led them on for an hour. I've a thread on boards somewhere about it. I basically let them bring me through the whole steps and i wrote down everything they asked me to do. Basically if you let them complete their script, they bring you to the c:\windows\inf folder and tell you them (harmless, and needed) .inf and .ini files are viruses.
Then they tell you to enter a website address, then make you go through the shopping cart and buy their product...which apparently doesnt download or anything. I think she said once I put in my credit card details and clicked submit, that my "Windows Guarantee" would be extended. Obviously i didnt put in any details coz i dont own a credit card, but i was able to just tell them i was putting them in.

Then, once they thought they'd found a sucker, they passed me onto another bloke, whos job in all this was to get me to download a piece of software that lets them connect directly to my PC. When you download this software and run it, it has a number on it. Its this number they use to connect to you. i lied and told them i did download it and they were askin for this 6 or 8 digit number. i just spouted any numbers at them.
Actually, they kept getting cut off, maybe 5 or 6 times over this hour or so, but coz they thought they were in for a pay day, they kept ringing back.

Got another call yesterday, and after 2 mins of him talking about a virus, i just said "yeah yeah, windows inf..." and he just hung up.

next time i have time i might let loose on them.

croberts

I work for PC-Doctor, Inc. (www.pc-doctor.com) which is a hardware diagnostics software company used by major PC OEMs. I wanted to make it very clear that the individual making this calls is NOT affiliated in any way with my company or any of its products. We get reports of similar situations so I wanted to ensure everyone was aware that there is no relationship.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me on this forum.
Thank you,
croberts

duckysauce

croberts wrote: »

I work for PC-Doctor, Inc. (www.pc-doctor.com) which is a hardware diagnostics software company used by major PC OEMs. I wanted to make it very clear that the individual making this calls is NOT affiliated in any way with my company or any of its products. We get reports of similar situations so I wanted to ensure everyone was aware that there is no relationship.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me on this forum.
Thank you,
croberts

lol think you should change your name

hellboy99

I got a call from them again now yesterday, can they not take a hint, you didn't get me the first or second time round :rolleyes: :mad: