Random phone call from Microsoft claiming my computer is running slow and they can help........

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corkyo4

corkyo4

corkyo4

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Just had a phone call from some bloke in India claiming he is from Microsoft and that my computer is running slow and he can help fix it.

He wanted me to switch it on and he was going to help me speed it up.

Apart from the fact the computer was already on and is far from slow, this sounds like some sort of a scam. He is apparently going to call back later.


Has anybody else had this happen to them??

Tom
 
How could they possibly know? Do people really get sucked in by stuff like this? Hmm I guess those who have computers that are running slower than normal perhaps wouldn't know how to do anything about it and could get suckered.
 
There's been quite a few threads on this, as already mentioned. Try and have some fun with said scammer when he rings back :)
 
Tealc said:
How could they possibly know? Do people really get sucked in by stuff like this? Hmm I guess those who have computers that are running slower than normal perhaps wouldn't know how to do anything about it and could get suckered.
Click to expand...

It easy to sucker people who have little knowledge of computers.
 
It implies a better 'scam' though. If its possible to correlate phone numbers with ip there's a buisness of sorts hiding in there.

Namely attack lots of computers, but instead of assembling a bot net with the results call the owner. Offer to repair the vulnerability for them and tag a palpal donate button onto the message. Is it still a scam if you then do said repair?

Alternatively set up a honeypot, plaster a phone number over the net, counter attack then blackmail.

Quite a lot of hassle, but then unemployed graduates are fairly common at present.
 
corkyo4 said:
Just had a phone call from some bloke in India claiming he is from Microsoft and that my computer is running slow and he can help fix it.



Tom
Click to expand...


You should wind him up, go along with it and tell him nothing hes telling you is working, frustrate the ******* an waste their time.

PLEASE FULLY STAR SWEARWORDS
 
Any cold callers i get now get the same treatment, in the past have been polite and asked them to remove my number on their list which doesn't work surprise, surprise. Then I've used the more colorful language to convince, no joy there either. So when they ring asking for me by name i ask who they are to be sure it's a cold caller from some random company, i tell them hold on till i get him now for you, he's out the back or some other excuse. Then go into another room set the phone down and leave it, think the record is one of them waiting was 18 minutes. Wasting their time is the best way to hit them. Time = money!
Plus with their line not hung up on my side it probably is costing them money or locking one of their lines too, just a guess. I forgot the phone one day and left it for over 6 hours :D

I am getting fewer and fewer cold/marketing calls these days for some strange reason! ;)
 
Sounds like the perfect opportunity to re-enact one of the best trolling of cold callers episodes ever.

Impersonate a cop on a crime scene. Ask the caller why he is calling this person who has just been found murdered, really be aggressive about getting details about the relationship between him and the deceased. And top it off, just when you sense that the caller is about to pull the plug, thank him for staying on the line long enough for your team to have gotten a good trace on his line and tell him to please stay where he is until someone can come and visit him to verify his story.
 
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