*SCAM ALERT* - Phone calls about your computer

7,804 Views | 48 Replies | Last: 8 yr ago by Rockdoc
BrazosWifi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I knew about these scams for a while because of my time working IT before starting Brazos WiFi. I just wanted to post a reminder to those folks who may get surprised by these scam artists.

I just took a call from 800-843-0000 claiming to be from "Squad Geek". The very nice sounding Indian fellow informed me that my computer had "problems" that needed to be fixed. He walked me through looking at the Windows Event Viewer which is always full of errors and notices (it is an event log, after-all). After seeing that I had 17,201 errors, he proclaimed that we must work quickly to stop the "problem". At this point, he directed me to a website. I then informed him that I was an IT professional and that I knew what he was up to the whole time. I was only playing along to waste his time. He let out a long string of cuss words as I was bidding him a "good day".

REMINDER: Nobody is going to call you and tell you that your computer has a virus (unless you are paying someone to watch your computer). Don't fall victim to these scam artists.
Sponsor Message: http://BrazosWiFi.com | Fast and reliable internet for the Brazos Valley | info@BrazosWiFi.com | 979-999-7000
The Original AG 76
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
nothing hurts these guys more than to tie them up. They have called me twice over the last few days.
First I try to sounds as clueless as possible ( veeeery easy to do).
Second I tell them that i need to go into the room with my machine so please hold on, it will take a few minutes as it is upstairs. Then I put them on hold.
Next I wait for a few and then tell them I am warming up my machine please hold on. again I just continue to watch TV or whatever.
I keep this going on for as long as possible with all sorts of foolishness. I had one guy on for almost 15 minutes.Lastly I just tell them to hold on so I can get a new phone with a better charge and just put them on hold never to return.

Burning their time keeps them from scamming others. If we all did this they would move on.
redd38
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I don't understand why people stay on the phone with these people to "waste their time." Your time is worth way more than his time.
LOYAL AG
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I got a call from the same number but he said he was from Microsoft support. He informed me that my machine running Windows was a virus and they had to take care of it or it would spread to other computers on my home network. I said, I need more information, like when did I get this virus to which he replied within the past 24 hours. I said that's interesting and that I still needed more information because I have five computers on my home network all of which run Windows. He then said it could spread to all of them and do so rapidly. I said OK so did I get this today to which he said, "I think so! Really, sir, we must take care of this or it will ruin your computer!" I said hold on, he still hadn't told me which machine and there are five of them. All he could say was it was my computer running Windows. Finally I said, "Oh, you mean the one that's been in my backpack since Thursday afternoon, about 72 hours ago??? THAT machine got a virus today! That's pretty amazing that a computer turned off got a virus. Sounds to me like you're a scam." He kept insisting there was a problem and had to be fixed but finally I hung up on him.

After hanging up I called the President of the IT company I'm a partner in and he told me about a similar call one of our engineers took about 2 years ago. They were able to keep this guy on the phone for almost an hour before laughing at him and hanging up.

As for wasting my time, I was sitting in the lobby of the New Orleans Convention Center between volleyball matches so it was an entertaining way to pass time 15 minutes or so.
The Original AG 76
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
I don't understand why people stay on the phone with these people to "waste their time." Your time is worth way more than his time.
What part of
"I just continue to watch TV or whatever" wasn't clear ? I never move, switch phones or anything, just keep putting him on hold. Its fun and doesn't cost me a minute and it hurts the scam artist. If I'm doing ANYTHING other than goofing off I just hang up.
armymom
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Got the same call in 2008.
redd38
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
quote:
I don't understand why people stay on the phone with these people to "waste their time." Your time is worth way more than his time.
What part of
"I just continue to watch TV or whatever" wasn't clear ? I never move, switch phones or anything, just keep putting him on hold. Its fun and doesn't cost me a minute and it hurts the scam artist. If I'm doing ANYTHING other than goofing off I just hang up.


Sorry, I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about people who's time is worth more than $1/day.
BrazosWifi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
In my case, I was sitting on the porch enjoying a cold adult beverage. I was getting some minor amusement from stringing the guy along.
AggiePirate
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
This is all you need to watch. And it is a must watch, the whole way through:

fcag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
That is a great video to watch. And yes, you should watch the whole thing.

It reveals the scammer's end goal and how they get to a point that they can extort money from you if you let them into your system.
FlyRod
How long do you want to ignore this user?
People still have landlines and bother to actually answer them? Wow.
fcag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I got a call from that number on my cell phone yesterday. I didn't answer it though.
AggiePirate
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
That is a great video to watch. And yes, you should watch the whole thing.

It reveals the scammer's end goal and how they get to a point that they can extort money from you if you let them into your system.
I find that it is almost like watching Shark Week. There is a particular moment or two where the guy does things fairly quickly that if you have never seen it before, you would have to have it on film to understand, for example like below:

Kate Beckett
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
My landline hasn't worked in a week and a half so no worries for me.

I did get a cell phone call last night though. I ignore it as usual.
LOYAL AG
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
People still have landlines and bother to actually answer them? Wow.

They called my cell phone. I own three businesses so I get a lot of unfamiliar calls. I don't answer a lot of them but given that I was idle I took a chance that it might be a worthwhile call. I wasn't disappointed but primarily because I was able to entertain myself for a few minutes.
originaltexan
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I believe the "cold call" law of averages state that 10% of the population will say yes/buy/give out credit card info.

The population spans all ages, education levels, and work experience. It may seem like you are beating a dead horse, but share this story with those you care about.

The guy in the video had a test bench pc, and he knew technology. Otherwise, a terrible idea to let someone in on your PC. This kind of reminds me of those that are shocked when a front door is knocked. The door is opened and the scam begins. Don't open your front door either unless you have the foundations and mindset to protect your life.
Kate Beckett
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I shouldn't laugh, but I have a story to share:

A friend of mine works for Microsoft in Seattle. His dad got the scam phone call and he fell for it. So my friend had to do damage control.
TexasAggie_02
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
My landline hasn't worked in a week and a half so no worries for me.
your landline has a virus. send me money and i can fix it right away
Kate Beckett
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
NO THANK YOU.
biobioprof
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I just hang up, but this thread has me wondering what would happen if I asked them for a bank account with a password so I could deposit the money for them directly.
waterchick
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Can you block calls from certain numbers on your phone? I haven't received this call (yet) on my mobile but several friends in the area have. I have received the same stupid robocall about winning a cruise from the 210 area code three times now.
TexasAggie_02
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
Can you block calls from certain numbers on your phone? I haven't received this call (yet) on my mobile but several friends in the area have. I have received the same stupid robocall about winning a cruise from the 210 area code three times now.
android lets you block numbers that are in your phone book. I created a contact called "Block." Every time i get a robo call, sales call, etc, I just add that number to that contact. I currently have 9 numbers listed under that contact.
nwspmp
How long do you want to ignore this user?
quote:
quote:
Can you block calls from certain numbers on your phone? I haven't received this call (yet) on my mobile but several friends in the area have. I have received the same stupid robocall about winning a cruise from the 210 area code three times now.
android lets you block numbers that are in your phone book. I created a contact called "Block." Every time i get a robo call, sales call, etc, I just add that number to that contact. I currently have 9 numbers listed under that contact.
I did the same thing on iOS. I created a contact that had no ringtone and no alert, and just add numbers to it as I get them. You can tap on the little (i) next to the phone number in the Recents, and then "Add to Existing Contact"

Nice and simple
MiMi
How long do you want to ignore this user?
S
My elderly mother got the call this afternoon on her IPhone. Thankfully, I was there and told her to not answer it. I had to explain the scam to her since she had not seen the recent news reports.
techno-ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
nothing hurts these guys more than to tie them up. They have called me twice over the last few days.
First I try to sounds as clueless as possible ( veeeery easy to do).
Second I tell them that i need to go into the room with my machine so please hold on, it will take a few minutes as it is upstairs. Then I put them on hold.
Next I wait for a few and then tell them I am warming up my machine please hold on. again I just continue to watch TV or whatever.
I keep this going on for as long as possible with all sorts of foolishness. I had one guy on for almost 15 minutes.Lastly I just tell them to hold on so I can get a new phone with a better charge and just put them on hold never to return.

Burning their time keeps them from scamming others. If we all did this they would move on.
The more time you can make these guys waste, and the less enjoyable you can make it for their scam, the better. KUTGW.
Nom de Plume
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Unless you are super interested in snort-laughing with the guy making the Scam the Scammer video, you don't need to watch it. The lesson is the same whether you spend 89 minutes of your life watching it or not: don't let someone remote into your computer, and don't give personal info (especially payment info) over the phone. With the above comments I thought something really awesome must happen at the end, so I skimmed through the video for 10-15 minutes. I was a bit disappointed that it was simply 90 minutes of nerd on nerd violence.
AggiePirate
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
Unless you are super interested in snort-laughing with the guy making the Scam the Scammer video, you don't need to watch it. The lesson is the same whether you spend 89 minutes of your life watching it or not: don't let someone remote into your computer, and don't give personal info (especially payment info) over the phone. With the above comments I thought something really awesome must happen at the end, so I skimmed through the video for 10-15 minutes. I was a bit disappointed that it was simply 90 minutes of nerd on nerd violence.
Sorry it lacked the explosions you were seeking. Will consult Michael Bay for the next one.
rc_cat
How long do you want to ignore this user?
quote:
quote:
Unless you are super interested in snort-laughing with the guy making the Scam the Scammer video, you don't need to watch it. The lesson is the same whether you spend 89 minutes of your life watching it or not: don't let someone remote into your computer, and don't give personal info (especially payment info) over the phone. With the above comments I thought something really awesome must happen at the end, so I skimmed through the video for 10-15 minutes. I was a bit disappointed that it was simply 90 minutes of nerd on nerd violence.
Sorry it lacked the explosions you were seeking. Will consult Michael Bay for the next one.
I admit I watched it in the background - the ending was kind of a letdown - I was hoping he would tell us what all had been done to his computer.
AggiePirate
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
quote:
quote:
Unless you are super interested in snort-laughing with the guy making the Scam the Scammer video, you don't need to watch it. The lesson is the same whether you spend 89 minutes of your life watching it or not: don't let someone remote into your computer, and don't give personal info (especially payment info) over the phone. With the above comments I thought something really awesome must happen at the end, so I skimmed through the video for 10-15 minutes. I was a bit disappointed that it was simply 90 minutes of nerd on nerd violence.
Sorry it lacked the explosions you were seeking. Will consult Michael Bay for the next one.
I admit I watched it in the background - the ending was kind of a letdown - I was hoping he would tell us what all had been done to his computer.
I can tell you from what I saw (from the specific area that I linked) was that the guy quickly put a startup password on his machine once he realized he was being found out:



This move alone would totally screw the normal user. He didn't do much beyond that. The video is more of a good watch imho in the sense that you see how they try to take advantage and how they react and adapt to being called on it. Yes the simple answer is to not take the call end of story. But I for one being in IT was able to gain a lot from the video. My favorite part was when the caller tried to go to the log to point something out in the beginning and the log was completely cleared out from before the call started.
fcag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
They just called my cell phone again. This time I answered it, but no one was there. I was a little disappointed.
NativeTxn
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Same thing happened here a couple hours ago. That number called my cell phone, but no one was there when I answered. This is the first time they have called my cell. They usually call the land line.
TexasAggie_02
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
quote:
They just called my cell phone again. This time I answered it, but no one was there. I was a little disappointed.


They robo call several numbers simultaneously, when someone answers, it gets put thru to a scammer. You probably picked up right as someone else did, and got nothing but dead air.
BCStalk
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Wife just got called.
woodometer
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I get this call probably 2-3 times a week. Today I messed with the first lady for about 5 minutes before telling her I have a mac and getting transferred to a "specialist". They claim to be in Enfield Connecticut by the way. I kept the guy on the phone for over 30 minutes today. He told me all about the warranty they offer that will cover all of my components. After about 30 minutes I got tired and asked him if people actually fall for this scam. The guy got very angry and told me it was not a scam and why did I think that. I told him to put me on his do not call list. That made him more mad and he started yelling at me and threatened to call my number 20 times a day and to just take up my time. I finally got tired and just hung up. These guys really dont like to have their time wasted.
classicdoug
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
I've got the call 3 times on my cell phone in the past few days. We got it today on the land line also. I blocked the 800 number on my cell but today it came up as Private.
Page 1 of 2
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.