The telephone rings while I am sitting at my laptop, “Hello, can I speak to Mrs McBain please”? “Speaking”, I reply, the voice at the other end of the phone then says, ” I am calling from Windows to tell you that you have a problem on your computer and we would like to help you fix that problem”. This was the first of many scam calls that I received and they are still getting away with this today!! The people who make these calls are very intimidating and if you question them or try to get ID they become quite angry and defensive. During that first phone call, I tried to get as much information as I could but he was not very forthcoming, he just kept repeating that he worked for Windows and that my computer had many problems. I think that I must have upset him when I told him that Windows does not go around calling people to tell them that they have problems on thier computer, as he hastily hung up on me. I have found that the best way to get rid of them is to reply with, “What computer, I don’t have a computer”, the phone is then hung up from the other end faster than the blink of an eye.
I have talked with security from Microsoft Windows and with BT and the both confirm that they DO NOTcall people up to tell them they have problems on their computer. Both of these companies are fully aware of the problems and are doing their best to tackle the issue. Perhaps they should work together and try to trace these people and get this stopped a.s.a.p.
Some people have already been caught out with this scam and have paid anywhere from £60 to £200 for these fake problems on their computer. It is also worth noting that in most cases the fraudster has already put a virus on the computers to help validate their claim. They will also guide you to the Administrative Tools and the Event viewer to show you the problems on your computer, they really do sound convincing, but in most cases they have already place the problem there.
Please tell everyone you know about this scam, people are still being caught out by this.
If you have had a similar experience please share it here.
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