Alert: PC Scam by phone

[Zeuhl]

Hi All,

Apologies if you know this one - but it's a new one on me!

Wednesday; Mrs Zeuhl took a call at home (on our ex directory number!?!) from someone who sounded like they could be calling from India.

He said he was a Microsoft Engineer, they'd received a report that our broadband was slow and if she sat at the computer he would walk her through a process to fix it and speed up our system
.
She declined, asked him to call back when i was there next morning and he said he would.

That evening we reasoned; Microsoft Engineers don't call domestic users, certainly not about broadband and no, I hadn't reported it as I think our connection is slow in the same way 95% of the population do.

He rang back yesterday afternoon, Mrs Zeuhl asked him 3 questions; Who are you? Who do you work for? What is the purpose of the call?

He immediately hung up.

At best, he may have been selling some overpriced and suspect system-maintenance software but worst still, I imagine, with the right skills, they could walk someone through a process that gives them access to sensitive information on their PC in seconds and installs any sort of spyware.

So beware and it might be worth warning any PC users you know and think might be vulnerable.
.

[mrs.chappie]

I can understand the logic of being ex-directory, meaning that folk can't look you up in a telephone directory, but I am with the doc on this one. If I wrote to a service provider, I'd let them have my number. That's not the same as any Tom, Dick or Harry being able to look you up.

[bushbaby_de]

Being ex-directory isn't the same as declining to give your number to a service provider... that's not what we were talking about!