Has the ‘Microsoft technical support’ phone scam evolved?

When In Rome

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Well it was news to us, I mean, we are used to getting a few of the old Microsoft calls a month but this morning's one, BT apparently - (we said that we're not with BT) - but the lady with the ubiquitous Asian accent informed us that in two days time our internet connection would be cut off.

So if we're not with BT, how and why would we be cut off, I asked. It's because BY are the (and I quote) "Mother of all internet connection providers" and we have been hacked by hackers and are at risk etc etc.

I told her it was new to us and asked whether they were a new scam. After a short silence, she then continued with the diatribe so I said, look, save your breath, I will now report this on the forums I use to warn others about you and... oh, there's that unobtainable signal - of course she'd hung up.

So while no-one really needs me to tell them about these nuisances or what to do about them, I'm interested to know how many people have endured this BT scam?

Have you been called by a ‘BT technical support’ phone scam? - Which? Conversation

Remember the Microsoft support scam? It starts with a nuisance call, but can end with your PC being compromised and a dent in your bank account.

An unsolicited caller claims to be working for Microsoft’s support team, they ask to remotely access your PC, they ‘prove’ that your computer’s infected with viruses, and they offer to fix it for a fee.

The thing is, they’re not from Microsoft and your computer may be virus free. And even if your PC was infected, you could get it in ship shape condition with free antivirus software.

Hundreds of you have told us that you’ve been subject to this scam. Microsoft’s own survey found that one in five people in the UK have been called by one of these scam callers. Of those who fell victim to the scam, the average amount lost was £745.
 
. It's because BT are the (and I quote) "Mother of all internet connection providers"
That's their new slogan right there :D

It is a shame that we have to endure these calls. but the fact they still go on kind of suggests that some are working.
 
Yes, as the Which? investigation found, there are some people that will always be victims. Perhaps not readers here but we all have families and should make awareness count.

I was browsing the Which? site, having had to register to post a comment on the BT scam when I saw this one about a PayPal imitation.

Is the latest PayPal imitation scam email the most sophisticated yet?

This week a friend received one of the most convincing PayPal imitation scam emails we’ve seen.

From email, sign-in page to personal detail form, it features a well-thought-out user journey.

How it works

It starts with the email, which looks like a receipt confirmation and cleverly guides you to click on a link to dispute a transaction. You won’t recognise the name the transaction shows because it’s fake and has been made up by the scammer.

Once you’ve landed on the sign-in page, you’re guided to type in your email and password.

In all likelihood, if you make it this far without any suspicions, you’ll type in a genuine email address and password. This information would then belong to the scammer and enable them to access your real account.

Even if you make a slight mistake with your email and password, you’ll still progress to the personal detail form, as we’ve found that all the form needs is an ‘@’ sign somewhere in the email address field.

On the Personal Information Profile page, it asks you to enter your personal information to verify your identity.

Not only are you told to enter in your billing address and card details, you’re also asked to enter in your mother’s maiden name, branch code and account number for ‘verification’ purposes.

This is an extensive and thorough attempt to capture as much financial information about you as possible, so accessing your account is easier for the scammers.
 
I've been getting either Microsoft or BT Openreach scam calls for months. Sometimes waking me up in the early hours.

Had enough, between them and others it was over a dozen scams or surveys week, sometimes 5 or 6 a day.

Got a BT call blocking phone and now live in silent bliss.
 
On the rare occasions I have the time it's so much fun to bait them. My boss in work (another security expert) likes to put on a stutter to prolong it further. Best I've managed was 14 minuites and the "nice" lady on the other end of the phone suggested I should "take your computer and throw it out the window" before she hung up. That was a fun call.

G
 
The last time I had a computer virus scam call, the asian person with an English-sounding name claimed to be calling from TalkTalk who were, at the time, my ISP. So their system had clearly done some IP lookup before connecting the call.
 
The last time I had a computer virus scam call, the asian person with an English-sounding name claimed to be calling from TalkTalk who were, at the time, my ISP. So their system had clearly done some IP lookup before connecting the call.

Where would they get a matching phone number and ip address pair?
 
My mum was caught out just before xmas but it wasn't a phonecall it was a bloody pop up that said the computer was infected and to call a number which she did :facepalm: and then proceeded to pay £75 (at first they wanted £250) and download and install some software that gave someone access to the computer.

She did try calling me shortly after seeing the message but I missed it and it wasn't until about 45 minutes later I returned the call and after she explained what had happened to told her to pull the connection to the router immediately and that I would come round that evening to check out the damage, also told her to get onto her bank and have them block the payment.

Couldn't find any obvious problems but better safe than sorry I reinstalled the computer and told her to ignore any pop ups or phones calls claiming the computer had problems, if there was anything wrong I would sort it, I am a computer technician after all and its kind of my thing lol
 
This scam is so old it's rumoured Noah made the first call to fund a boat build he had planned. Yet still it can catch people out on the blindside that's why they keep doing it
 
This week a friend received one of the most convincing PayPal imitation scam emails we’ve seen.

From email, sign-in page to personal detail form, it features a well-thought-out user journey.

Really? have these people been living in a cave for 20 years? It reeks of phishing scam...
 
I get the odd "according to our records you've had a car accident" type call.

It's always from a landline number in London.

I've called them back several times and basically said "I'm Mr. X from X company and I'm calling about the car accident you had on X date." You can always hear the sound of silent confusion down the phone.

I've also blown a whistle down the phone and also quickly tuned my radio to classic FM and said "can I just put you on hold a second."
 
Yes, as the Which? investigation found, there are some people that will always be victims. Perhaps not readers here but we all have families and should make awareness count.

I was browsing the Which? site, having had to register to post a comment on the BT scam when I saw this one about a PayPal imitation.

Is the latest PayPal imitation scam email the most sophisticated yet?
The simple solution, as with any of these scams, is to go to the website which the email claims to be from (in this case paypal).
I never click on links via email. Always go straight to the website. Simple but effective
 
My mum was caught out just before xmas but it wasn't a phonecall it was a bloody pop up that said the computer was infected and to call a number which she did :facepalm: and then proceeded to pay £75 (at first they wanted £250) and download and install some software that gave someone access to the computer.

She did try calling me shortly after seeing the message but I missed it and it wasn't until about 45 minutes later I returned the call and after she explained what had happened to told her to pull the connection to the router immediately and that I would come round that evening to check out the damage, also told her to get onto her bank and have them block the payment.

Couldn't find any obvious problems but better safe than sorry I reinstalled the computer and told her to ignore any pop ups or phones calls claiming the computer had problems, if there was anything wrong I would sort it, I am a computer technician after all and its kind of my thing lol
Get adblock and malware bytes (both free). They manage to block 99% of these kind of scams
 
Get adblock and malware bytes (both free). They manage to block 99% of these kind of scams

Adblock was installed, think she said she was on Facebook when it popped up, have told her and my Dad several times in the past to watch out for scams but only a few weeks after the above happened she got an 'email' from Amazon saying her account had been compromised and to sign in using the link in the email, and she did :mad:
 
Working in the industry (IT industry, not scamming industry) the one we're seeing a lot of recently is ransom-ware such as CryptoLocker locking entire systems and demanding payment to release the files!
 
Adblock was installed, think she said she was on Facebook when it popped up, have told her and my Dad several times in the past to watch out for scams but only a few weeks after the above happened she got an 'email' from Amazon saying her account had been compromised and to sign in using the link in the email, and she did :mad:
Maybe she needs a more suitable device that's a bit more 'locked down'?
eg
IMG_1122.JPG

;)
 
I have already threatened that if anything happens again I will be charging a £40 call out charge, there is only so much I can do to help them avoid these scams.
 
"Where did you dig up that old fossil?" As Han Solo would say :)
 

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