Warning! Dodgy scam phone calls from people pretending to work for Microsoft

[rosemary]

Today I got a phone call from an educated American male voice telling me my Computor has been hacked and he worked for the Microsoft Company and would I go to my PC and open it and he would tell me how to save all my files that had been hacked if I followed his careful instructions. He said he had my Licence number for my PC.

He refused to give me his name and phone number when I told him I would check first with my so in law who was a IT expert. He said that it wasn't necessary to do that as only he could do this repair.
I asked him to email me first and he said no.
He also said many people in Spain had had the same problem with hackers getting into their computers.

Anyone else heard of this??? I put the phone down on him BTW.

[seal420]

It's a scam which has been generating quite a bit of publicity. Had a call myself, but quite convincing.

[canarybird]

Yes we've been warned about this scam for some time now. Microsoft does not make phone calls to people.

Here's the story of the scam (http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/microsoft.asp) on Snopes where you can read about it.

[rosemary]

Yes we've been warned about this scam for some time now. Microsoft does not make phone calls to people.

Here's the story of the scam (http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/microsoft.asp) on Snopes where you can read about it.

Excellent article CB thankyou. I have passed it on. He really was most convincing.

[Malteser Monkey]

I think it's safe to say don't talk to anyone about your personal data

"vodafone" called me few weeks back wanting all sorts on personal info - I told them not to bother me again

This is going to sound terrible but whenever I have phoned them it is always an Asian origin person I speak to - always very helpful and polite, this person was not and was very pushy !

[rosemary]

I think it's safe to say don't talk to anyone about your personal data

"vodafone" called me few weeks back wanting all sorts on personal info - I told them not to bother me again

This is going to sound terrible but whenever I have phoned them it is always an Asian origin person I speak to - always very helpful and polite, this person was not and was very pushy !

It doesn't sound at all terrible! It was an Asian voice. Nothing wrong with saying that. You could just as easily have said he sounded French or Welsh or Eastern European. Sad but we are afraid of our own shadows nowadays.

[Malteser Monkey]

It doesn't sound at all terrible! It was an Asian voice. Nothing wrong with saying that. You could just as easily have said he sounded French or Welsh or Eastern European. Sad but we are afraid of our own shadows nowadays.

I always find those at vodafone so helpful - that's a compliment

Blimey don't if I'd have said Scottish my life wouldn't be worth living:D



melm Angusjim

[LUCKY]

It doesn't sound at all terrible! It was an Asian voice. Nothing wrong with saying that. You could just as easily have said he sounded French or Welsh or Eastern European. Sad but we are afraid of our own shadows nowadays.

A law suit could be in the Email had Monkey said sounded Yorkshire or Lower GDS:flatcap:

[irishmusico]

Had that three times. Love winding them up. Kept one chap on the phone for an hour while I was watching TV. Nearly crying by the time I told him to get a real job and make his mammy proud ;)

[mike in chayofa]

....I think it's safe to say don't talk to anyone about your personal data ....

Caller ID is a wonderful thing (although it costs 60cents per month through Telefonica) If you see a call from the mainland that you aren't expecting, or a mobile from a number that you don't recognise, just ignore it. It's bound to be sales pitch or a scam.

[theslaters]

Had them last year in the Uk spate of them all Asian/Indian ? First one got the big F off then read somewhere just keep them talking because if they are talking to you they are not getting your mums Nan's info ,half hour the first time then told him to ring back as computer was not starting up then another half hour LOOOOOSER!!!!!!!

[rosemary]

Caller ID is a wonderful thing (although it costs 60cents per month through Telefonica) If you see a call from the mainland that you aren't expecting, or a mobile from a number that you don't recognise, just ignore it. It's bound to be sales pitch or a scam.

2 points. I'm with Direct Line not Telefonica, maybe they have it too.
But I never commit numbers to memory unless it is my immediate family. It would give me a big headache:crazy: to remember more than that.

[mike in chayofa]

....But I never commit numbers to memory unless it is my immediate family. It would give me a big headache:crazy: to remember more than that.

You don't have to remember them. You can tell where the call is from:


City Area Code Dialing Code
Albacete 967 +34 967
Alicante 96 +34 96
Almería 950 +34 950
Ávila 920 +34 920
Badajoz 924 +34 924
Barcelona 93 +34 93
Bilbao 94 +34 94
Burgos 947 +34 947
Caceres 927 +34 927
Cadiz 956 +34 956
Ceuta 952 +34 952
Cordoba 957 +34 957
Cuenca 969 +34 969
Durango 970 +34 970
Girona 972 +34 972
Granada 958 +34 958
Guadalajara 949 +34 949
Huelva 959 +34 959
Huesca 974 +34 974
Jaen 953 +34 953
La Coruña 81 +34 81
Las Palmas 928 +34 928
Leon 987 +34 987
Lerida 973 +34 973
Lugo 982 +34 982
Madrid 91 +34 91
Malaga 95 +34 95
Melilla 952 +34 952
Murcia 968 +34 968
Orense 988 +34 988
Oviedo 407 +34 407
Palma 971 +34 971
Palma de Mallorca 971 +34 971
Pamplona 948 +34 948
Pontevedra 986 +34 986
Salamanca 923 +34 923
Santa Cruz 922 +34 922
Santander 942 +34 942
Sevilla 95 +34 95
Tarragona 977 +34 977
Tenerife 922 +34 922
Toledo 925 +34 925
Valencia 96 +34 96
Valladolid 983 +34 983
Zamora 980 +34 980
Zaragoza 976 +34 976

[rosemary]

Mike thankyou for this impressive list. I ought to print it out and stick it up near the phone.

I still can't quite believe I was talking to such a polished performer, a bona fide criminal. The b*****d.

[canarybird]

When it's not a 922 Tenerife prefix I don't bother to answer but wait to see if they leave a message on my answering service.

If they don't leave a message then I figure it wasn't a personal call for me.

Mobile phone numbers are a different story. I don't remember any of my friends' mobile numbers but most spam calls don't come from a mobile.

[primrose]

Mine is Tenerife and is 822, and on Mike's list none of the codes begin with an 8.Sorry just seen one that starts with an 8. When I give people my number and tell them it starts with 822 they always question it.

[rosemary]

This call number was quite short, that what I remember seeing on the (land line) screen. So I knew or assumed it was local or a mobile and replied in Spanish. There was a long pause so I then said Hello and he then replied in English. Make of that what you will. But he sounded more American and probably from Caribbean cos he used the word 'aks you' instead of 'ask you'. MY OH is from there so I am familiar with the sound.

[jandy]

BEWARE, I just had a phone call from someone named Andy who sounded Indian and said he was from microsoft windows, he told me that my computer was corrupted and full of viruses, he wanted me to switch on my computer, but I told him I could not, he then gave me a number to phone 00442032866013, that I was to call before putting my computer on. After the call which was at 8.30 this morning, I checked google and found that this is a scam they try to gain access to your comp by linking up in order to sort you problem, so they say . Do not do it, microsoft would not phone you it is not what they do.

Just thought I would let people know, because it does sound frightening when they tell you your comp is infected with all these viruses etc, but do not get taken in.

[canarybird]

Yes this scam has been around for a while. Here is one of the threads (http://www.tenerifeforum.org/tenerife-forum/showthread.php?31933-Warning!-Dodgy-scam-phone-calls-from-people-pretending-to-work-for-Microsoft&highlight=Computer+scam) where it was discussed here.

[JaBBa]

I had one last year, kept them on the fone for nearly a hour, following their instructions ( or acting like I was) wasn't happy that I was on to him near the end, I've added a you tube link to something similar, will point out it contains adult contents as did mine if I recorded it....


http://m.youtube.com/results?q=microsoft%20phone%20scam&sm=