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Internet/Phone security query - sorry for long post.
bluedog
Posts: 502 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
Last Thursday, my internet and landline went down. All is back up and running ok now, but there have been some strange things happen and I wondered if this is just coincidences or is it something more sinister please?
Briefly as possible, I have Caller Display on my phone and usually answer the phone to known people only. However a couple of weeks ago, my MIL's neighbour rang to tell us of a serious problem with her and I didn't answer them. It got sorted in the end, but as MIL has dementia I've been left feeling really guilty over it.
I'd had a spate of unknown numbers (unavailable, international and ones with numbers I don't recognise) calling over the last 2-3 weeks. If a number shows, I take note of it and check them on the number checking sites. However, with guilt over MIL running high, we've answered it a couple of times only for the caller to hang up.
The landline was fixed on Monday, but to get the internet back on, I had to call the ISP again. (Both are from same supplier.) In short, the router had to be reset to factory settings even though they've never been changed.
I used my pc for non-web activities during the time everything was down and it worked fine. After getting the internet back on, it crashed and took 2-3 attempts at doing a System Repair on re-boot to get it back up again. It seems fine again and appears to be running a lot smoother and quicker - not a bad thing!!
The last piece of the puzzle came to light from Paypal. I'd accessed the account and made payments from it using my Paypal card both instore and using a borrowed pc during the time everything was down. After the internet was back on, I received notification from Paypal that a suspicious attempt was made to access my account last Thursday - the same day when my landline and internet went down. Again, all is sorted with my Paypal and glad to say whoever it was didn't succeed.
It all seems a bit too coincidental to me that I had the scammy type's of callers in the days before all this started, an attempt to access my Paypal account on the same day both internet and web went down and then both PC and Router needed to be re-set to get working again.
Is it possible that some kind of hacking attack had been attempted, maybe some kind of malware put on my pc or something?? Or is it just plain simple coincidence? My email was hacked a couple of years ago and I'm worried it could be something like this again.
I use avast and run anti-malware checks regularly, keep my pc updated etc and rarely have had anything untoward show. I have goodness knows how many passwords and am as careful as can be about what sites I go on and sign up to. I don't know everything though and with the rate technology advances, it would be arrogant to think I do.
If anyone can offer any advice or suggestions about this please, I'll be extremely grateful.
Briefly as possible, I have Caller Display on my phone and usually answer the phone to known people only. However a couple of weeks ago, my MIL's neighbour rang to tell us of a serious problem with her and I didn't answer them. It got sorted in the end, but as MIL has dementia I've been left feeling really guilty over it.
I'd had a spate of unknown numbers (unavailable, international and ones with numbers I don't recognise) calling over the last 2-3 weeks. If a number shows, I take note of it and check them on the number checking sites. However, with guilt over MIL running high, we've answered it a couple of times only for the caller to hang up.
The landline was fixed on Monday, but to get the internet back on, I had to call the ISP again. (Both are from same supplier.) In short, the router had to be reset to factory settings even though they've never been changed.
I used my pc for non-web activities during the time everything was down and it worked fine. After getting the internet back on, it crashed and took 2-3 attempts at doing a System Repair on re-boot to get it back up again. It seems fine again and appears to be running a lot smoother and quicker - not a bad thing!!
The last piece of the puzzle came to light from Paypal. I'd accessed the account and made payments from it using my Paypal card both instore and using a borrowed pc during the time everything was down. After the internet was back on, I received notification from Paypal that a suspicious attempt was made to access my account last Thursday - the same day when my landline and internet went down. Again, all is sorted with my Paypal and glad to say whoever it was didn't succeed.
It all seems a bit too coincidental to me that I had the scammy type's of callers in the days before all this started, an attempt to access my Paypal account on the same day both internet and web went down and then both PC and Router needed to be re-set to get working again.
Is it possible that some kind of hacking attack had been attempted, maybe some kind of malware put on my pc or something?? Or is it just plain simple coincidence? My email was hacked a couple of years ago and I'm worried it could be something like this again.
I use avast and run anti-malware checks regularly, keep my pc updated etc and rarely have had anything untoward show. I have goodness knows how many passwords and am as careful as can be about what sites I go on and sign up to. I don't know everything though and with the rate technology advances, it would be arrogant to think I do.
If anyone can offer any advice or suggestions about this please, I'll be extremely grateful.
0
Comments
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You accessed your PayPal account from a different pc and PayPal saw this as a suspicious attempt??0
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No, that's the odd thing. The suspicious log on attempt was in London and nowhere near me.
I accessed my account from my son's pc just a few miles away 2 days afterwards as well as using the PayPal card in an actual shop - both were after the attempt.
The first notification of thursday's attempt came after getting my home landline and internet up and running on monday
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I'd say coincidence.
To sort out friend from foe on the landline spend some money on a BT6500 type phone (the ones based on call guardian). I used to do what you do coupled with a push button call blocker but the call guardian type type are far better. Your MILs neighbour would have had a change of getting through or leaving a message but scam callers almost certainly wouldn't. I recently bought a BT 8610 set which I'm very pleased with - no more ringing from cold callers an no more Green Deal or PPI messages to come home to on the answerphone either.0 -
Geolocation via your ISP is often inaccurate. You cannot assume that just because you are in a certain location the automatic internet location will place in the same place. For example: I work in the UK. When I use the internet at work websites think I am in Germany. It is down to where exactly your connection is routed.No, that's the odd thing. The suspicious log on attempt was in London and nowhere near me.0
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