Indian Windows Call Centre Scam - Finally get MY call

Kernel_Sanders

QUOTE=andy2004;55695773]
Wonder how many people they could phone with no electricity or phone lines [/QUOTE]

GunJack

Finally !!!! I got my call this afternoon !!! Unfortunately, 1. I didn't have my linux/7 dual-boot to hand, and 2. it was almost lunchtime and the kids were hungry.

However, I kept him all enthusiastically walking me through going to msconfig and letting him show me there were services not running.

him:- can you see those microsoft services that are stopped?
me:- yes
him:- this is why your pc is showing errors on our server !!
me:- is it?
him:- yes. do you know why they are stopped?
me:- yes
him:- really ?? why is that?
me:- because I turned them off
him(still really upbeat and enthusiastic):- why did you do that?
me:- 'coz I'm a computer engineer and I have been tweaking my system to perform better
him (now very deflated and miserable) :- oh, right, sorry I have wasted your time
me:- serves you right for trying to make scam phonecalls to the UK

funny enough the line went dead after that...still, 6.5 minutes he wasn't scamming some old dear who could've fallen for it and the kids got their lunch on time

Nikiya

Lol! Are there people who fall for this scam? I am barely literate in computing and soon realised the chap did not know what he was talking about. Plus the fact that you are NEVER going to get a PERSONAL call from "Microsoft windows". What are these people after?

GunJack

Nikiya wrote: »

Lol! Are there people who fall for this scam? I am barely literate in computing and soon realised the chap did not know what he was talking about. Plus the fact that you are NEVER going to get a PERSONAL call from "Microsoft windows". What are these people after?

Yes there are, and I went to one a few weeks ago where they'd dumped zeroaccess rootkit and some other stuff on his pc whilst under remote access.

They are in the main after instant payment by credit or debit card, and then possibly to re-use those card numbers at a later date. At around £100 a pop when someone falls for it, makes it worth their while :mad:

angela110660

I have had several calls in the last few days - line empty when I pick up. Phone rang yesterday again and spoke to a woman who was very vague about who she was and her company and spoke quickly to cover it up. I hadnt been aware of this scam before and thankfully I didnt put computer on as she asked me to do. When I queried how she knew that the system was infected She became hesitant as I said I hadnt told anyone of problems and then I plonked the phone down. no more calls since and hope that is the end of it. Just want to thank MSE for this forum and for all posters on this thread which has put my mind at rest but given me - normally ultra security conscious on computer - a huge wake up call.

SLITHER99

I only ever got one of these. I on-purpose mistook the words "sit at your PC" for "stand in front of your toaster".

Claims of "it's getting really hot now" and "nope, it's burning up" seemed to make sense so I kept going. I opened event viewer and said "I don't see any errors. Plenty of crumbs, but nothing written there". Amazingly it turned out to be the crumb tray but admitedly, after emptying it as directed, it improved matters.

After about 20 minutes, the toaster popped up and I said "Yes, it's perfect now. Well done, this is the perfect slice of toast. But before you go how much butter should I add".

He was very confused but hung onto the fact he'd fixed something so wanted credit card details. He first wanted the long number across the top. I first read the serial number for the toaster, gave my name as Ken Wood and the last three digits were 3.25 which is where the dial on the toaster had been set to.

Sadly my speech after that was muffled as I wolfed down my perfect toast. Bless him, he persevered for 10 minutes to get payment details and I eventually said "Tell you what, send me an invoice and I'll send you a cheque". After giving him an address of 10 Downing St. amidst some blithering about how he can't do that, I invited him to dinner.

Weird. He didn't accept. I wonder if David Cameron got an invoice for "fixed Slither's toaster"

letsbehonest

I have contributed to this thread and I have read many of the comments, I too I have managed a 22 minute wind up, but this year alone with perhaps 8 to 10 phone calls I have now resorted to F Off you lying Bs, coz it makes me feel better, Polically correct ! I really don't care.
Lets help our Hero's instead.

andy2004

New one
Got a phone call this morning. NOT from a indian caller, regarding my pc, I thought ok, then he said he was from Microsoft Windows Technical department regarding the error logs they where receiving from my computer. Then he changed that to say he "the company he worked for" was working in partnership with microsoft.
To which i replied my computer wasnt sending any due to the fact i'd disabled that service/program.
he told me i was using CHROME web browser. I said weird. I dont use or have chrome installed.
he then told me i used my computer mainly for online gaming, internet banking and shopping. Well i haven't played online games in over 12years. i dont really do internet banking, yes i go online and check my bank account to see how much i got in there. and as for shopping i only use ebay, amazon and 2 others.but rarely.
none of which i told him, i couldnt get the accent he had. he sounded dutch/swedish.
he said he would give me their phone number and website. Which i told him no need as i wouldnt go to the site to download their trojans or phone their number which would be a premium redirect number, would have used google to find out the company "he was working for" first.
In the end i put the phone down as he kept insisting i should turn on my computer and check the error log.

Just run event log and yep i got some errors. all to do with 1 program and disk access but dated back to 24/09/2012
but windows error reporting service in services is disabled.

Trillionaire

glendam wrote: »

I was fed up last week after 6 weeks in wheelchair when I got my call.
When he asked about windows I said they were fine and all opened well.
He said he meant on the computer I said I didnt have one so he said his list said I was a user so I got really upset and asked him was he calling me a druggy as I have never taken anything in my life.
He hung up.

Some of these conversations are funny, but the above made me cry with laughter:rotfl:

vyle

I've got a colleague who actually fell for these calls. He's in his 60s, and has a computer that IS failing and is very old.

He tried following the instructions from the scammer, but his computer kept freezing, blue screening and rebooting. Eventually the call centre guy got cross and hung up telling him he was just wasting his time.

My colleague came into work and asked me if I knew their number or site so he could sign up for them to fix his computer :rotfl: