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question about so call microsoft guy

Posted By: family

question about so call microsoft guy - 08/17/14 08:15 PM

some guy call saying he was from microsoft and we had a virus my husbvand answer the phone and press 2 button before i could stop him could that hurt the computer. cool
Posted By: Jenny100

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/17/14 09:08 PM

Pressed two buttons where? On the phone? That probably wouldn't do anything.

If he clicked where someone told him to on some website on the computer, he probably infected the computer with some sort of malware -- unless you stopped him before the "installation" of the malware was complete.
Posted By: Draclvr

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/17/14 09:08 PM

Were the buttons he pressed on the phone or the computer? This is a HUGE scam. If he didn't press any buttons on your computer, then you are OK.
Posted By: family

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/17/14 09:09 PM

2 buttons on the computer something and r at the same time to bring up the desktop.
Posted By: Jenny100

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/17/14 09:10 PM

Originally Posted By: family
2 buttons on the computer something and r at the same time to bring up the desktop.

If that's as far as he got, you should still be OK.
Posted By: family

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/17/14 09:28 PM

okay thank you very much, and it is. cool
Posted By: Draclvr

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/17/14 11:37 PM

It was probably CTRL R which opens up a Run command box... if he had typed in what the scammer told him to, your computer might be toast right now!
Posted By: family

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/18/14 02:58 AM

thank you guys very much, he knows it now, a friend and my sister said microsoft doesn't call people.
Posted By: InlandAZ

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/18/14 03:48 AM

Yep, what Drac said, probably a DOS prompt. Never trust someone claiming to be from Microsoft, they won't call you, you have to call them.
Posted By: family

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/18/14 04:57 AM

thank you guys very much.
Posted By: Homer6

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/18/14 06:49 AM

family, unless a caller has been granted remote access to your computer, that caller is not going to know what's wrong with your computer. If anything.

I got a call some time ago and was told our computer had reported it contained a virus. I paused a bit, looked at our shut off computer, and told the guy where to go. Now I have called customer services where the tech asked permission for remote access, which I granted. But I'll never grant access to anyone who calls me. I don't know who they are or what they're up to.
Posted By: Upsydaisy

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/18/14 10:30 AM

I still get the odd call from 'microsoft guy' hang up straight away. Also PPI claims and 'have you had an accident recently'. Again hang up time. There has also been a steep rise in emails from banks, telephone services, utility companies and paypal, all asking to click on links and update bank details. Threats of cancelling or stopping services are included. What is real and what is fake? luckily if I click on one just for fun my browser displays a huge red notice! 'Don't go there' shame
Posted By: RichAlexis

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/18/14 01:30 PM

Indeed, the calls from Microsoft are a huge scam. I've had a number of them over the years. They originate from call centers all over the world, mostly apparently from Asia, but now also from Africa and South America.

They always pretend your system needs an upgrade, due to a nasty virus attack of some sort. If you comply, they will install spyware or illegal access software on your computer that is likely to steal your personal (financial) data or add your computer to some criminal network.

The calls are often relayed by means of various proxy servers or any other way of obfuscation, making it almost impossible to track down where they come from. The police hardly do anything about them, at least so they told me, also because they are constantly moving targets, and national legislation can hardly tackle shady companies that crisscross the globe, and use servers in one country, legal registration in another etc. Frankly, the whole internet is a mess that way.

By the way, the iffy emails from banks, webshops and the like that ask for re-registration of usernames and passwords are cases of so-called 'phishing'. Never trust a mail from your bank that asks you to change your personal details. Always make a phone call to a trusted number (i.e. shown in a general phone directory or on your bank correspondence) of your bank etc. to ask if they know what this is about.

Also, if you access your trusted company website (type the address, don't click on mail links, because they are fake!), it will often display a note about current scams or frauds. But sometimes, companies aren't that forthcoming, because they feel reporting lots of scams may damage their image ....

Of course, a growing concern is the fact that fewer and fewer companies use telephone numbers for their communication, and there are even fewer physical offices you can approach in person. As it is, we have to live with an extremely buggy and unreliable internet and can only be as wary as we can of what it has to offer.

Rich

Posted By: oldmariner

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/18/14 07:02 PM

Adding to what Rich said, here is a useful tool to verify secure sites. Ever wonder if you are really connected to a legit bank site? This is one way to verify where you think you are.


Security Fingerprint

The website has instructions for various web browsers, they provide the info in different ways.
Posted By: family

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/18/14 08:37 PM

thank you guys very much for the info we will do that next time.
Posted By: Homer6

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/19/14 07:31 AM

Glad to help you keep your computer safe.

One more thing to add about banks and such businesses. Any official documents from a bank or other type business will come to you through the mail. That way they have a record that you have been notified about whatever you are contacted about.
Posted By: RichAlexis

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/19/14 12:42 PM

Originally Posted By: Homer6
One more thing to add about banks and such businesses. Any official documents from a bank or other type business will come to you through the mail. That way they have a record that you have been notified about whatever you are contacted about.

Yes, thanks for mentioning this. This has been the case so far. But I'm not too sure if banks will continue to do so.

For instance, I used to set up my standing orders (banker's orders) by surface mail, because it involves authorizing a company to automatically withdraw money from your account at regular intervals, and it obviously needs a signature and full personal details. So it felt safer for me to use a paper form and stick this in an envelope. Or sometimes go to an office and identify myself and vice versa to make sure.

But now my bank has put an end to this possibility, and allows only online banking to deal with this. So what's next?

I actually get lots of mails from companies that urge me to do everything online. That way, they can fully automate their procedures and 'cut out the middleman', that is lay off more of their employees.

I realize this is sidetracking the issue a bit, but I just wanted to address the general dilemma behind it wink

Rich
Posted By: Upsydaisy

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/19/14 02:31 PM

If I want to pay anyone or set up any payments, I need to log onto my bank's website, set up any payments etc., but before this can be confirmed I have to put my debit card in a card reader (supplied by my bank)this issues
a random code which I enter on the website. Do they have this system in place in the US?.
Posted By: RichAlexis

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/19/14 04:33 PM

Originally Posted By: Upsydaisy
If I want to pay anyone or set up any payments, I need to log onto my bank's website, set up any payments etc., but before this can be confirmed I have to put my debit card in a card reader (supplied by my bank)this issues
a random code which I enter on the website. Do they have this system in place in the US?.
I don't know about the US - I live in Europe, but I know some banks work that way with a card reader, but not mine. Just username and password, sometimes adding an extra 'super-secret' (ha!) verification code, which is static though. Sounds safer the way you do it!

Actually, I just read a note from my bank that says: "We are digitizing our communication. This means you will be receiving more and more banking information digitally instead of by mail. Because digital communication isn't always possible, for instance when we send you a new bank card, you may occasionally receive mail from us".

That pretty much sums it up. I guess I'll have to switch! shocked

Rich
Posted By: Homer6

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/20/14 07:17 AM

There are such devices called Secure IDs which generate a random string of numbers that have to be entered in order for a user to do something that has to be secure. It's a key fob or credit card size device which is initially synchronized with the issuing institution so that the numbers generated by the user's device are the same ones at the issuing institution end. And because the numbers change every 2 minutes, and are random, they are about as secure as you can get.

Every time a scam makes the rounds in my area, several businesses place notices in the newspaper telling customers how they actually handle the business the scams are trying to exploit. One such is the power company. A few times a year some article will tell of a person who has been called by someone claiming to be from the power company. The caller gives the person a pitch saying they own so much and if they don't pay immediately the power will be shut off. And the power company will post a notice in the newspaper telling this is NOT how they handle delinquent accounts.

As has been said many times before, both by those in the know and businesses, if you have doubts about someone claiming to be from this or that business, hang up and call a number you KNOW belongs to the business the caller claims to represent.
Posted By: Cathy1

Re: question about so call microsoft guy - 08/22/14 12:43 PM

I've had that computer guy call. I just tell him I don't own a computer,and the silence on the other end makes me smile a little.

Cathy thumbsup
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