So this morning I get a call just as I am waking up. A polite gentleman with a heavy Indian accent (dot, not feather) informs me that he is from Microsoft and my computer has a virus. Groggy, I'm not sure what to do but stall for time. I tell him I'm not near my computer, please call later. So I start some digging. Google is a wonderful search tool! First, I do not allow remote access to incoming calls nor do I give out information to unsolicited callers. I'm pretty sure this is a scam.
Sure enough, the second call gave me enough information to dig up some dirt. 360 PC Support (the company that called) is not Microsoft, and is not a MS partner like they said they were. They are a call centre in Mumbai with a 404 area code call back number (Atlanta, Georgia.) They originally said they were Microsoft. I called them on it and they said they were actually representatives (partners) of MS and that I have a virus on my computer. They have called me three times this morning. The second time I told them to not call me again. They are insisting that I allow them to remote access my computer or my computer will crash. Obviously, I do not allow this.
This type of scam is hard to control, according to several websites I used to research. The Guardian wrote a good article describing the scam. They are also calling in Australia, and America as well now. http://answers.microsoft.com Apparently, they are using phone lists to call, since I do not share my phone number with MS. Interestingly, he never called me by name that I recall, which is another telltale, since a legitimate organization will call you by name. However, some scammers will have your name, so just because they know who you are does not mean they are legit! Be careful and happy computing!
We got a call last evening asking us to put prefetch virus into our computer which we did shouldn t have but then the guy asks to allow access to our computer thats when I said no way this has to be a scam and hung up
ReplyDeleteI got a call from them this morning trying to get me to visit the same site. I kept him on the line for 10 minutes.
ReplyDeleteja ja this was so hilarious. the same company called me today. at first i did not understand who they were. then she said "360 pc support- a microsoft partner" anyway she goes on to explain that i have gotten a virus through my browser. just like that. i cracked up and said are you kidding? i like to think i run a tight ship. anyway i kept laughing, apologized and wish them good luck finding some idiot who might believe them.
ReplyDeletethe worst part though, and it makes me very upset, is that i bet a lot of people, young and old, do fall for this. a couple of months back i wiped a relative's box, who had actually clicked yes to one of those pop ups that say 'youi computer is infected', then installed the malicious software, and paid them 89 bucks to boot.
so people are stupid yes, but to prey on that stupidity is pretty low.
so people fall for it sure. this sort of thing needs some serious regulation.
i got a call like this same but i seriously got the problem in my computer and they fix it remotely they were really nice
ReplyDeletewww.googletechsupport.com
perrywood