Phonecall saying my computer is corrupted...?

bestpud

Can anyone shed any light on this please?

I've had an 'international unavailable' call this morning - I normally don't answer but I'm getting several a day and it's driving me nuts!!!

Anyway, this guy didn't know my name (he asked who he was talking too but got no joy!) and said he was from '(B)ridge technology'.

He said he was calling to warn me my computer has been sending error messages to Microsoft and they basically mean my computer is corrupted with malicious files and it's affecting the motherboard in some way - hard to understand what he was saying altogether.

I presumed he was going to sell me something so told him to go forth and not call again. He said 'as you wish madam, it's your computer'.

Has anyone else had a call like this as I'm curious now - I
should have waited to see what he was going to do to 'help' but I hate cold callers!

I've done a search but can't find anything...

I don't believe what he said - I'm just curious!

zzzLazyDaisy

It's a scam - they rely on the fact that people are scared of viruses, and most people have had problems with their pcs at some time or another. There have been similar threads on MSE in the past about this sort of thing.

I'd just forget about it.

delain

Phone spam, I've had this too! I told him I didn't own a computer

Also at one point I was getting lot of calls from mobile number offering to help me becasue they could see I had 'credit card and catalogue debts' :eek:

Don't do credit, never have. If I can't afford one, I don't have one!

Just give the phone to a small child and tell them a man want to talk about cats or something.

twhitehead

Me too but I just hung up. My caller sounded as though he was from the Indian sub continent.

bestpud

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

It's a scam - they rely on the fact that people are scared of viruses, and most people have had problems with their pcs at some time or another. There have been similar threads on MSE in the past about this sort of thing.

I'd delete the message and forget about it.

I thought as much!

I spoke to him on the phone so no message - I just hope they stop calling now as it's international and I can't do anything about it!

I know several people who would fall for this though so will warn them!

zzzLazyDaisy

delain wrote: »

Just give the phone to a small child and tell them a man want to talk about cats or something.

LOL

Tell the 'nice man' on the phone that you don't know anything about computers, and ask him to hold the line while you go and get your husband.

Then leave the phone on the side for half an hour..........

Lokolo

I never get these phone calls. I always wanted one to see how far I can push them

thistledome

delain wrote: »

Just give the phone to a small child and tell them a man want to talk about cats or something.

That's so cute

My Mum got one of these calls. Luckily she's a bit deaf and she hates getting calls from foreign call centres; as she understands them even less than UK ones, so she just hung up on him (she told me a foreigner called her claiming to be from Windows!). She's in her eighties and it annoys me that these people can phone her at will. How do they get our numbers in the first place?

paulofessex

This was in our local paper only yesterday

A COMPUTER scam has been operating which leaves the victims £185 out of pocket.
Southend Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) is warning about the ruse which is thought to be carried out from a base in Calcutta.
A man telephones and tells the victim theur Internet Service Provider has identified a fault with their computer, which requires expert help to address. They are asked to log onto their computer and to access a file called ‘Windows Event Viewer.’ Anyone viewing this computer activity log will see a list, which contains the words ‘Warning’ or ‘Critical.’ On the face of it, the log sounds as though the computer has serious faults. In reality, the words cited are normal for that part of the programme and are nothing for the user to worry about.
The caller then advises that he will guide the recipient through a ‘step-by-step’ solution to the issue. This involves logging onto a website, downloading some software and effectively handing control of your computer over to the caller. At this point, the caller drops the bombshell that his fee is £185 – pay up or face the consequences of him being able to remotely access the recipient’s computer.
The standard advice form Trading Standards is not to follow the advice of cold callers of this nature. If you are concerned about someone calling you about a computer issue such as that described above, Google it to get some background before taking any further steps. Finally, do not download software from an unknown site at a total stranger’s behest. Anyone receiving such a call is asked to call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06

Read Article Here (Echo)

i8banks

paulofessex wrote: »

This was in our local paper only yesterday

A COMPUTER scam has been operating which leaves the victims £185 out of pocket.
Southend Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) is warning about the ruse which is thought to be carried out from a base in Calcutta.
A man telephones and tells the victim theur Internet Service Provider has identified a fault with their computer, which requires expert help to address. They are asked to log onto their computer and to access a file called ‘Windows Event Viewer.’ Anyone viewing this computer activity log will see a list, which contains the words ‘Warning’ or ‘Critical.’ On the face of it, the log sounds as though the computer has serious faults. In reality, the words cited are normal for that part of the programme and are nothing for the user to worry about.
The caller then advises that he will guide the recipient through a ‘step-by-step’ solution to the issue. This involves logging onto a website, downloading some software and effectively handing control of your computer over to the caller. At this point, the caller drops the bombshell that his fee is £185 – pay up or face the consequences of him being able to remotely access the recipient’s computer.
The standard advice form Trading Standards is not to follow the advice of cold callers of this nature. If you are concerned about someone calling you about a computer issue such as that described above, Google it to get some background before taking any further steps. Finally, do not download software from an unknown site at a total stranger’s behest. Anyone receiving such a call is asked to call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06

Read Article Here (Echo)

hi i had one of these calls yesterday from an indian woman, she asked me to turn my computer on as there are virus she can see hahaha silly woman i said hmmmm i dont think you can love and anyway i nhave good software on my computer and im not stupid enough to believe any crap you have to say so gerrrr offffffff my phone! peggy mitchell would be proud, the indian lady hung up on me hilarious!!

prowla

I had a spate of these; the last one I asked them which of my computers it was, and that seemed to confuse them.
I also asked them which operating system it was from and what was the message, but they didn't seem able to answer for some strange reason.