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WARNING.Windows Phone Scam
I just received a telephone call from someone claiming to be an employee of Microsoft saying that they had detected problems on my pc which could cause 'Windows' programmes to crash. The guy wanted me to start my pc to verify serial numbers which he said only MS would have and which would therefore confirm his authenticity.
Obviously, I suspected a scam as:
1) how would MS know that I had problems
2) how would MS know my phone number
3) I doubt if MS spend time calling customers for matters like this.
The guy spoke with an Indian accent, so I asked where he was based. His reply was Belgium and when I asked where in Belgium, he put the phone down.
The number he called from was 'Withheld' .
Here's a couple of articles on the scam.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/18/phone-scam-india-call-centres
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/10/i-am-calling-you-from-windows...
Has anyone had a similar call recently?
Is there an organisation in Belgium where I should report this?
I heard thia was happening in the united States a few months ago from a friend in Texas. It is a scam.
I've had it on many occasions. It's been happening in Belgium for a few years.
They must have some success as they are still trying!
This has been on the forum in the last couple of years I believe.
we have a landline that only me and family have and somehow they got a hold of that phone number and I get the call maybe once every 6 months it seems. Depending how bored I'm, sometimes I go along with the call and pretend that I'm completely computer illiterate. But yea, this scam is all over the world.
Good news for all of you who lost time and/or money on this - A man who ran a Microsoft computer scam tricking people into paying for free anti-virus software has received a suspended four-month jail sentence.
Mohammed Khalid Jamil, 34, from Luton, hired people at an Indian call centre to falsely tell victims their computers had a serious problem.
The targets would be charged between £35 and £150 for software Microsoft made available for free. Sadly he probably made a fortune from this but only has to pay a token fine, but it is a start ....
