New Phone Scam. Be Aware

[PhilTheFragger]

Watch out there is a new phone scam in town. spread the word

You get a phone call from "Microsoft" who say that when you bought your PC, you also paid for a warranty

It now appears that you were overcharged for this warranty and they owe you £129 .

So they are after you giving them your bank card details so they can refund the cash directly

total scam, but it is the sort of thing that some people may fall for.

Tell your friends and relations

 

[Blue in Munich]

Another good reason to own a Mac, no calls from Microsoft

Thanks for the heads up Fragger, will pass it on.

 

[Andy]

If you fall for that then you deserve all you get.

 

[Dodger]

If you fall for that then you deserve all you get.

This.

And it is hardly a new scam. As old as the hills.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Previous ones have targeted vulnerable users with stories of virus infections, they gain the users confidence, get them to allow remote access to the PC, plant loads of rubbish and then demand money to "fix" the problem

This one is different as the user thinks they are getting a refund and are therefore more likely to be taken in

As a mobile PC engineer, i get called to lots of jobs where this type of scam has happened , and its not just little old ladies that get caught.

 

[mcbroon]

Watch out there is a new phone scam in town. spread the word

You get a phone call from "Microsoft" who say that when you bought your PC, you also paid for a warranty

It now appears that you were overcharged for this warranty and they owe you £129 .

So they are after you giving them your bank card details so they can refund the cash directly

total scam, but it is the sort of thing that some people may fall for.

Tell your friends and relations

Ask them to send you a cheque.

 

[guest100718]

This.

And it is hardly a new scam. As old as the hills.

Variation of a theme.....

 

[lex!]

This post is just a spam, and I would ask the Mod to delete it.

 

[garyinderry]

my mum is the type who could fall for this.


we had a pop up appear on the laptop at home saying there was virus and you could clear it for £25. my mum wanted to hit it with the credit card to make it go away.

she was actually afraid to use the computer for a while. :rofl:

 

[SocketRocket]

my mum is the type who could fall for this.


we had a pop up appear on the laptop at home saying there was virus and you could clear it for £25. my mum wanted to hit it with the credit card to make it go away.

she was actually afraid to use the computer for a while. :rofl:

Those viruses are difficult to get rid of and block any use of the computer. If you find the executable file and try to delete, it creates a copy. I had one once and the only way I could clear it was with a Re-Format of the disk.

 

[3offTheTee]

This post is just a spam, and I would ask the Mod to delete it.

the mod posted it originally!!!!

 

[Hacker Khan]

Watch out there is a new phone scam in town. spread the word

You get a phone call from "Microsoft" who say that when you bought your PC, you also paid for a warranty

It now appears that you were overcharged for this warranty and they owe you £129 .

So they are after you giving them your bank card details so they can refund the cash directly

total scam, but it is the sort of thing that some people may fall for.

Tell your friends and relations

I'm struggling to believe some people will fall for this. I know they only need 1 or 2 out of the 100s they try, but nowdays would someone who has actually bought a PC give out their bank details to a random caller?

 

[chrisd]

I'm struggling to believe some people will fall for this. I know they only need 1 or 2 out of the 100s they try, but nowdays would someone who has actually bought a PC give out their bank details to a random caller?

If scams didn't work there would be none!

 

[woody69]

This post is just a spam, and I would ask the Mod to delete it.

Indeed. "spread the word because of x" is almost as bad as the "scams" themselves.

 

[Martin70]

Had one of these phone calls this morning funny enough. He got most upset when telling me it wasn't a scam :lol:

 

[chrisd]

I don't think that the lovely lady from India was too happy to wait 15 minutes while I climbed down off the roof to go to my computer that had apparently acquired a virus that she could fix. She did patiently wait until I booted it up and got to the start up menu but hung up abruptly when I used the phrase " but I don't have the internet, never have done"

I was actually lying in bed - well I was in bed and lying but it was fun while it lasted!

 

[Hacker Khan]

I don't think that the lovely lady from India was too happy to wait 15 minutes while I climbed down off the roof to go to my computer that had apparently acquired a virus that she could fix. She did patiently wait until I booted it up and got to the start up menu but hung up abruptly when I used the phrase " but I don't have the internet, never have done"

I was actually lying in bed - well I was in bed and lying but it was fun while it lasted!

I get those and depending on my mood can keep them holding on for ages whilst I ask them for their (fake) web site address to prove they are real, try and find the windows key, mistype the name of everything they tell me etc etc. I've even quoted Homer Simpson when they have asked my to press any key, and I say, 'Where's the any key'. Then after 15 minutes I tell them I have a Linux box.

They sometimes do get most upset, but I see it as me giving them less chance to scam an old lady.

 

[Hacker Khan]

If scams didn't work there would be none!

True, I can see why some people fall for some scams such as the 'fake virus that some Indian firm associated to Microsoft has detected', but you'd hope even the most naive clueless person would not just give their bank account details out to random callers allegedly from Microsoft.

 

[CMAC]

I get spam calls most days, easy to tell within seconds (a few seconds pause before they speak usually indicates a dialler)
anyway, I am polite, say I'm just closing the front door and hang on a sec, then put phone down beside radio on until they hang up- no-one has lasted more than 24 seconds:whoo:

Their calls are diminishing I've noticed

 

[Foxholer]

I get spam calls most days, easy to tell within seconds (a few seconds pause before they speak usually indicates a dialler)
anyway, I am polite, say I'm just closing the front door and hang on a sec, then put phone down beside radio on until they hang up- no-one has lasted more than 24 seconds:whoo:

Their calls are diminishing I've noticed

There have apparently been a couple in the past that redial you through to Premium Rate numbers. So that method, which I used to use as well, might get expensive!