SCAM - Your computer has a virus!

[FG_Frodza]

Evening all, just a heads up for everyone on the forums..

Today I have received 4 calls on my mobile phone from scammers telling me that my computer is infected and could crash at any minute.

It sounded fishy to me as this isnt normally how tech support works and I dont have any subscriptions to monitoring services and my computer is very rarey turned on because I mainly use the iPad or work computer for browsing.

Anyway after having a few choice words with them I looked it up and found this website which explains the scam in detail.

http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/.../itemId/792165

[brenx]

I respond with "huh I don't have a computer". They instantly hang up eventually they stop calling too.

[Tribal]

The trick is to tell them yes you do have a problem, that you can't get onto the internet and ask if they can send someone to fix it

[XR6Uteman]

Originally Posted by FG_Frodza

Evening all, just a heads up for everyone on the forums..

Today I have received 4 calls on my mobile phone from scammers telling me that my computer is infected and could crash at any minute.

It sounded fishy to me as this isnt normally how tech support works and I dont have any subscriptions to monitoring services and my computer is very rarey turned on because I mainly use the iPad or work computer for browsing.

Anyway after having a few choice words with them I looked it up and found this website which explains the scam in detail.

http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/.../itemId/792165

The trick is to see how long you can keep em on the line, waste there time like they do to others.

Tell you you have to boot up the computer thats good for a few minutes at least.

[FG_Frodza]

Originally Posted by XR6Uteman

The trick is to see how long you can keep em on the line, waste there time like they do to others.

Tell you you have to boot up the computer thats good for a few minutes at least.

Yeah I did that with the first and second but the joke got less funny after the third and fourth.

[Benjamin Smith]

I made one of them cry after they said that i was the bright future of Australia

[grandpa_spec_F6]

I used to ask for their supervisor, then say I was going to get my mum / dad and would be right back.... and throw the phone on the bed... they usually gave up after a few minutes, but it cost them

[flooded one]

yea i got that phone call a year or so ago. told me they where microsoft and they where ringing too say my computer had viruses. which i thought was weird because years ago i had a computer crash from a virus. microsoft never rung me back then. told them i was having trouble starting my computer up. they gave up after a few minutes as i kept playing dumb with them. strange thing is you could here alot of noise going on in the background during that call. weird????

[Geez Louise]

I love getting calls about my phone carrier...I do this every time...

Caller: Hello, May I speak to you a moment about your telephone provider?
Me: Sorry. I don't have a phone. *click*

I can just imagine the poor guy on the other end of the phone wondering how I could talk to him....The aftermath... Confusion reigns supreme.

[Geez Louise]

There was a thread about this in March last year:

Microsoft Scam

[Jim Goose]

Only been happening for the past 4 or 5yrs... :P

[The Yeti]

I had one, I told them I had a call from them earlier today and the other guy helped me through it and it works great not thanks

They got really confused and hung up