Bogus phone call (Hackers)

I have just recieved a phone call from an Indian gentleman,(totally unsolicited)
he asked me to logon to my windows computer so that he could talk me through a fix for malware/spyware that is affecting MS Windows, I told him my job was in IT and that what he was doing was completely unorthodox and very strange, ( a persistent chap) he wouldn't take no for an answer. I got rid of him by telling him that I used Linux Ubuntu, he then hung up.
Just a warning for the innocents out there.

I get those too. Annoying to say the least. I tend to get my own revenge by winding them up . On one occasion I had them going for nearly 10 mins asking them where my computer was, then got passed onto several people trying to 'help' me to switch it on , Eventually they hung up on me

reply to post by JustMeLiverpool

I'm in Holland and also "in IT". I got called twice by an Indian gentleman (different people on both occasions). They have a terrible phone system. I picked up the telephone, said the usual "Hello" and was greeted by echo, feedback and much line noise. I thought it was a prank call then a voice said "Hello, I am calling about the computer. The windows computer." I just told him I didn't have a computer and he hung up on me without another word.

If anyone else should receive such a call, do not enter into discussion. Be short, polite and hang up. Its a scam.

reply to post by JustMeLiverpool


That's ridiculous. Who would fall for such a thing besides 70+ year old grandmothers? I doubt there are any on ATS to heed this warning. I think you should post this on Facebook if you have a FB account, I do not.

reply to post by JustMeLiverpool

I got a call like this once.
I don't bother to entertain them. I just hang up.

I sat there on the phone with them for the better part of an hour pretending to follow their steps to remote access my PC. I wasn't actually at my computer and it wasn't even on at the time.

The whole time I kept telling him the viruses I have must be due to all the animal and scat fetish porn that I watch. I asked the guy about such things as his sex life, if he enjoyed weird sexual fetishes and what sort of objects he preferred to penetrate himself with.

After about 45 mins I asked him if perhaps the remote access isn't working because I use Linux instead of Microsoft. He immediately hung up. Lol.

The way I see it is since I wasted his time I probably saved a few old people or naive users from being taken in by a scam. Plus I had loads of entertainment.

So are they always indian?

Also, when you told him you use Linux why did he hang up?

I think I'm missing something here.

reply to post by JibbyJedi


I dont have a FB account either.

reply to post by Vandettas


remote access

There have been so many scams perpetrated by those in other countries that it is getting to be quite funny. I wish this guy would call me. I'm retired, ornery as hell, and have nothing better to do with my time than mess with a scam artist.

reply to post by Vandettas


He hung up because they claim to be reps from Microsoft.

Basically once they find out you have no computer or no Microsoft the jig is up. They use a Backdoor in windows that allows remote access to your machine indefinitely once you've allowed it on your end.

They install viruses and also software that logs bank account info and credit cards. Passwords also.

Initially they sit there and pretend to run antivirus software while you watch them do it.

These guys are almost always east Indian.

Its a scam though. Its hard enough to get a real Microsoft rep on the phone let alone them contact you.

reply to post by JibbyJedi


You would be surprised.
It is amazing how convincing these con artists can be.

Personally, I know better and I could have fun with them. I would do everything I could in the process to get them to tell me their IP address.

reply to post by metaldemon2000


thanks mate,
you seemed to have these scam artists well sussed

reply to post by metaldemon2000

You Sir are a nasty troll. A blight on the face of any Indian trying to earn a living. Shame on you! (Psst! I lol'd)

reply to post by JustMeLiverpool


Go to Control Panel, and click on Computer Administration. Click on Computer Management, and disable anything that has to do with Remote. Be sure to disable Remote Registry too. Now you will be safe from these remote guys looking to steal your ID.

He's just phoned again.
He's a persistant little bugger.
I told him "feck off you cheeky tw@t, Oh and happy new year"
"Now go on, off you feck"
Some People!

Star + Flag because this is getting common, the more people that know about it the better.
I have received about 6-8 calls in total now over the past 6months here in the UK.

It always seems to be coming from a noisy (background chatter) indian call center.

I myself use Linux on the desktop, although some members of my family use our other computer which does in fact use windows. They are aware of the scam, luckily i was in the house to tell them to just hang up.

Your interent service provider, microsoft, or any other company will never phone you to inform you of "malware" on your computer. The reason for this is, it would be a breach of privacy if they could "somehow" inspect eveyr process on your computer to determine that you had a virus in the first place.

Its a cheap trick, but alot of people can fall for it. Always double check who your really talking to.... you could end up losing your credit cards and identity.

Originally posted by Vandettas
So are they always indian?

Also, when you told him you use Linux why did he hang up?

I think I'm missing something here.

The scam basically goes like this:

Fake Microsoft Employee:
Hello, we have detected malware and viruses on your computer

Innocent Victim:
REALLY????

Fake Microsoft Employee:
Yes, we have a tool you can download to remove it

Innocent Victim:
My computer doesn't seem to be infected though...

Fake Microsoft Employee:
If you do not visit the page i request you, and download our anti virus program, we will cut off your internet as you are a threat to other users because the virus will spread.

Innocent Victim:
Downloads the 'anti-virus' and runs the program.

The program they get you to download is always something like "antivirus.exe", which is a piece of malware written to run on windows only.

Now, the "Fake Microsoft Employee" simply connects to your computer through a backdoor he/she just installed and does whatever they like, stealing your images, documents, stored passwords, all of it gone.

reply to post by JustMeLiverpool


I had that call...

And i loved every second of it...

The guy kept telling me he had all of my information, yet he needed me to use remote assistance to fix a problem with my cpu, which incidentally had no problems or viruses.

Simple way to bust him though...

I told him if he had "all my information" then he could give me my IP address ...

Dead air...

Then he said oh we have your ip address but we need you to log onto remote assistance to fix this problem...

I said i would be happy to if he could give me my ip address... If he had all my info he obviously would need my ip address to get said info from my cpu...

After that he hung up...

Scams are so easy to see through... though there has been many people that have fallin for this one...

Careful out there guys...

I get a a fair few of these calls. if I am not busy I play along for as long as possible, wasting as much of their time as I can. I generally do what others have already mentioned, just annoy them by asking what is a mouse and do and do I click the left or right button etc.

Unfotunately they do sound legitimate and someone who has not much experience in IT could easily fall for it. A family member of mine asked them to hold and they called me to confirm because they really were starting to believe there was a 'virus' on their computer which only 'Microsoft' could fix..

Also, to get rid of the phone salesman / scammers I just sound really interested and ask them to hold as someone is at the door, then just leave the phone. Again waste as much of their time as i can. I checked once after 20 minutes and they were still waiting lol.