Phone call from Microsoft Service Centre

DeborahB

Just thought I would add to this thread that I have taken my third call from 'Patrick' - a very persistent little toad!
First call I played very dumb with comments like, 'I have a computer? really?' but I did get a telephone number out of him when I told him I would have to call him back as my granddaughter was crying!!
Second call I advised him that the IP address he quoted was not an IP address that I recognised, so he went away to check and then funnily enough the line went dead!
Third call, even after telling him that since his call on Saturday I have done some research and believe him to be a fraudster and that I have notified the 'fraud squad' who are actively monitoring & recording my calls in an attempt to track his location, he still tried to convince me that my computer was in dire need of his attention. He finally gave up (I hope) when I told him that Microsoft had in fact tested my system since his first call!! Do you think I have heard the last of him?

grizzly1911

DeborahB wrote: »

Do you think I have heard the last of him?

I doubt it.

I get an Andrew who pops up quite regularly.

I just say I haven't got a PC then he asks have you got a laptop - NO.

They may well use your name, and quote you address too.

diygardener

A good friend of ours got a call from these people today. Unfortunately she is very trusting and they persuaded her to type a few things into her computer - the end result being she has installed software called "citrix online" which means they can now control her computer remotely. I have told her to leave her computer switched off until I have had a chance to completely clean it of all such malware.

The caller gave their telephone number as 01614082696. This might actually be their number as she called them back and they appeared to be trying to persuade her that they were genuinely an international service centre for Windows. So if there's anyone from fraud office monitoring this forum, perhaps you can catch these scam-bags red handed.

anotherbigspender

diygardener wrote: »

A good friend of ours got a call from these people today. Unfortunately she is very trusting and they persuaded her to type a few things into her computer - the end result being she has installed software called "citrix online" which means they can now control her computer remotely. I have told her to leave her computer switched off until I have had a chance to completely clean it of all such malware.

The caller gave their telephone number as 01614082696. This might actually be their number as she called them back and they appeared to be trying to persuade her that they were genuinely an international service centre for Windows. So if there's anyone from fraud office monitoring this forum, perhaps you can catch these scam-bags red handed.

Just to be clear Citrix isn't malware and is a legitimate tool which can be used to provide remote access to your PC. It can be used to access your work PC from home, or administer tech support to family members who live some distance away (what I use it for). It can also however be used by scam artists like this.

HoofeHearted

diygardener wrote: »

...
The caller gave their telephone number as 01614082696. This might actually be their number as she called them back and they appeared to be trying to persuade her that they were genuinely an international service centre for Windows. So if there's anyone from fraud office monitoring this forum, perhaps you can catch these scam-bags red handed.

This appears to be http://xedlabs.com/contact_us.htm
A Manchester phone no.!!!

After checking the websites domain registration, the details are:-
Registrant: Xedlabs technologies Md. Shahid (mohammedshahid50@yahoo.co.in) 118, Eliot Road Kolkata West Bengal,West Benga IN Tel. +91.9903207296 Creation Date: 01-Aug-2011 Expiration Date: 01-Aug-2012

There you have it, new site, owner in West Bengal, India.

prowla

Lemon_Tree wrote: »

We've just received a phone call from someone saying they're are Microsoft service centre which has rung alarm bells with me, but maybe i'm just a cynic. They said that we had malicious software on our computer which they have discovered via our ip address, and via our service provider. When i said we didn't deal with people who rang us up cold they insisted that they would send a techy person around. When we said no they threatened that they would not renew a microsoft licence in my name ever again and would note that i refused their assistance. Amazingly enough they rang off smartish when i said i worked for the police.
do you thing they were genuine?
we have malware protection, and virus protection is there anything else we should have?
thanks for your opinions

Microsoft said you had a piece of nasty software on your machine and that they would send around someone to sort it out???
Think about it - that does not make commercial sense.

And then they said that because you wouldn't let them "fix" your computer they would never renew a licence in your name again?
Oh really? - Most Microsoft licences are one-time purchases and don't need renewing.

It wasn't Microsoft.