Sharpie Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 I know the subject is well known pretty much to all of us. For the last week I have been getting daily calls supposedly from Microsoft in New York. These have ended with profanity from me, and in some cases similar returns from the caller. Today while I was using my computer it advised that it was loc ked. I immediately done what I was told not to and unplugged it. About an hour later I got my anticipated call from New York which I just clicked off with no answer. I have run my security systems and have received messges saying no virus present. Is this it finished or will it be a repetitive situation and can I do something to stop it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Z Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Curious what you mean, Bob, by the computer informing you it was locked. That can happen if you leave it awhile, depending on your settings. Some more detail needed to try to determine whether this was just a coincidence with the scammers--I don't think they'd have a way to pick your computer out of the billions on the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 5 minutes ago, Justin Z said: Curious what you mean, Bob, by the computer informing you it was locked. That can happen if you leave it awhile, depending on your settings. Some more detail needed to try to determine whether this was just a coincidence with the scammers--I don't think they'd have a way to pick your computer out of the billions on the internet. It was a sort of notification form that said it was from Microsoft and they were advising me that either my computer was locked or an attempt had been made to lock it. As I say I immediately despite advice not to unplugged and basically rebooted the computer. I then used my Fix Me Stick and no viruses located. What was strange and possibly relevant was that when I started my computer again I got a whole load of Windows updates. I have just looked up those updates and some security issues were included. As you say I think I may have misunderstood the notice, and immediately jumped to the scammers calls, everything seems good now. I will change some passwords though just in case. Thanks for the help much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milky_26 Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 was the notification on your computer or over the phone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Gin Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 (edited) I had a scam email last week from some chancer claiming he'd hacked my computer, taken control of my webcam and had recorded me having a ham shank while viewing a porn site. They claimed that they were going to share it to my contacts list and everyone on my facebook page (which they had also apparently seized) unless I sent them £500 in bitcoins. Unfortunately for them they spammed my work email which isn't linked to any social media accounts. I also don't have any webcams, and I'm somewhat unlikely to have been viewing porn at work and jackin' it in my shared office in front of my boss. Can see how some folk would shite it and cave in to their demands though. They probably get some bites. Edited February 13, 2019 by Ray Gin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovecraft Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Download and run Mbam Free and 100% safe. There is paid version, but the free one works fine. https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovecraft Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Ray Gin said: I had a scam email last week from some chancer claiming he'd hacked my computer, taken control of my webcam and had recorded me having a ham shank while viewing a porn site. They claimed that they were going to share it to my contacts list and everyone on my facebook page (which they had also apparently seized) unless I sent them £500 in bitcoins. Unfortunately for them they spammed my work email which isn't linked to any social media accounts. I also don't have any webcams, and I'm somewhat unlikely to have been viewing porn at work and jackin' it in my shared office in front of my boss. Can see how some folk would shite it and cave in to their demands though. They probably get some bites. Yeah, that done the rounds at my work too. I was ****ing at work though. Edited February 13, 2019 by Lovecraft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 19 minutes ago, milky_26 said: was the notification on your computer or over the phone? On the computer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Gin Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 13 minutes ago, Lovecraft said: Yeah, that done the rounds at my work too. I was ****ing at work though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovecraft Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 14 minutes ago, Ray Gin said: ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartsfc_fan Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 51 minutes ago, bobsharp said: It was a sort of notification form that said it was from Microsoft and they were advising me that either my computer was locked or an attempt had been made to lock it. As I say I immediately despite advice not to unplugged and basically rebooted the computer. I then used my Fix Me Stick and no viruses located. What was strange and possibly relevant was that when I started my computer again I got a whole load of Windows updates. I have just looked up those updates and some security issues were included. As you say I think I may have misunderstood the notice, and immediately jumped to the scammers calls, everything seems good now. I will change some passwords though just in case. Thanks for the help much appreciated. Don't worry about the load of windows updates appearing. This is normal this time or month as yesterday was "patch Tuesday". Microsoft (the "real" Microsoft that is) tend to release patches on the second Tuesday of the month and they tend to appear on our machines by the Wednesday. I guess that question is did the "fake" Microsoft on the phone ask you to input or type anything in on your computer? Something like revealing your IP address to them or a remote session? If they didn't I wouldn't worry too much and as one of the above posters said, download and run malwarebytes just to be sure all is clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcc Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 1 hour ago, jonesy said: Got two of them from 'BT' today. Scum. Bengali Telescam? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All roads lead to Gorgie Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 1 hour ago, jonesy said: Got two of them from 'BT' today. Scum. I got the same scum today telling me my phone line was about to be cut off. I got the one about the inland revenue about to take me to court and the so called microsoft scam from what sounded like India not so long ago. The **** called back as well when I told them to stick their scam where the sun don't shine. Lowest of the low these ****s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunks Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 2 hours ago, jonesy said: Best bit was the boy asking, "Can I confirm that you are the owner of the internet?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
132goals1958 Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 On 13/02/2019 at 20:09, Lovecraft said: Yeah, that done the rounds at my work too. I was ****ing at work though. This is the way to deal with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamboelite Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 On 13/02/2019 at 19:52, bobsharp said: It was a sort of notification form that said it was from Microsoft and they were advising me that either my computer was locked or an attempt had been made to lock it. As I say I immediately despite advice not to unplugged and basically rebooted the computer. I then used my Fix Me Stick and no viruses located. What was strange and possibly relevant was that when I started my computer again I got a whole load of Windows updates. I have just looked up those updates and some security issues were included. As you say I think I may have misunderstood the notice, and immediately jumped to the scammers calls, everything seems good now. I will change some passwords though just in case. Thanks for the help much appreciated. As long as you gave them no info or didnt do anything they asked you’re fine Bob. Sounds like a system upgrade telling you that your PC is about to reboot and upgrade at the same time as the scam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 1 hour ago, Jamboelite said: As long as you gave them no info or didnt do anything they asked you’re fine Bob. Sounds like a system upgrade telling you that your PC is about to reboot and upgrade at the same time as the scam. I m+ay have over reacted, but was caught once before. When I first got Windows 10, I stopped gettin Word. I bought a Microsoft CD, and downloaded it. A message came up saying that I had a problem and call this number, as it was on a legitimately purchased CD I did. Suddenly all my files started flashing through my screen, I called the number back and asked what was going on they told me that I had viruses but at a price they could fix them, I declined less than kindly. It cost me $200 to get my now locked PC fixed. I got a call a few days later saying I was owe for the contract I had taken out, again profanity prevailed. Since then I have been getting calls from the same people on a regular basis. At the time of my post on here I was getting them daily, so I was really defensive but i now suspect wrongly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambostuart Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Used to get these all the time with dodgy football streaming sites. My computer would freeze, I'd get a notification telling me I couldn't do anything unless I paid x amount. Restarting the computer I found logging on to my profile would be slow as feck and my internet tabs would all be locked with the same notification. Ended up making a back up user on my computer, also an admin, and running a virus scan to get rid of the virus. Worked a treat. Thankfully now I have decent streaming sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe.gausden Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 13/02/2019 at 20:03, Ray Gin said: I had a scam email last week from some chancer claiming he'd hacked my computer, taken control of my webcam and had recorded me having a ham shank while viewing a porn site. They claimed that they were going to share it to my contacts list and everyone on my facebook page (which they had also apparently seized) unless I sent them £500 in bitcoins. Unfortunately for them they spammed my work email which isn't linked to any social media accounts. I also don't have any webcams, and I'm somewhat unlikely to have been viewing porn at work and jackin' it in my shared office in front of my boss. Can see how some folk would shite it and cave in to their demands though. They probably get some bites. Get stacks of them every day at work. Not sure which ones have caught me and which are scams TBH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheile Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I got one of these calls from "Microsoft" a few months ago so I started to play the daft laddie. The caller kept telling me to press certain keys etc. and I told him that I couldn't do that as there were no keys like that on my laptop. He started to get angry and insisted the keys were there so I told him no, definitely no keys like that on my Chromebook! He instantly hung up. I have since bought BT Advanced Phone and have not had a single scam/nuisance call since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Tolbooth Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 19 hours ago, 132goals1958 said: This is the way to deal with them This is so good that I shared it on Facebook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 13/02/2019 at 21:02, jonesy said: Got two of them from 'BT' today. Scum. Got one from BT on Saturday advising me that I will lose my Internet connection by 1700 (yesterday) unless I followed their advice and gave the caller remote access to my laptop. Aye ok then, whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 3 hours ago, Cheile said: I got one of these calls from "Microsoft" a few months ago so I started to play the daft laddie. The caller kept telling me to press certain keys etc. and I told him that I couldn't do that as there were no keys like that on my laptop. He started to get angry and insisted the keys were there so I told him no, definitely no keys like that on my Chromebook! He instantly hung up. I have since bought BT Advanced Phone and have not had a single scam/nuisance call since. That's my tactic It's fun because the caller soon gets fed up guiding you through the fix and eventually terminates the call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlimOzturk Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Is this on landline phones use are all getting these calls from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 hour ago, AlimOzturk said: Is this on landline phones use are all getting these calls from? Mine was. I told them to phone the mobile as they have my number but they wanted to know what it was. So I told them to email me. Have heard nothing since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 3 hours ago, Marvin said: Got one from BT on Saturday advising me that I will lose my Internet connection by 1700 (yesterday) unless I followed their advice and gave the caller remote access to my laptop. Aye ok then, whatever. I got one of those as well. #prayforulysinternetconnection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlimOzturk Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 hour ago, Marvin said: Mine was. I told them to phone the mobile as they have my number but they wanted to know what it was. So I told them to email me. Have heard nothing since. Honestly thought the only places that use landlines now are businesses. Must explain hardly get spam calls apart from the odd "have you been involved in an accident recently" ones. The email ones I have had however Someone apparantly photographed me having a ham shank off my webcam and emailed threatening to expose my shameful act unless i transferred £3000 pounds to them. Somehow they had my email contact list and read out a few names to me...I emailed them back telling them I couldn't give a flying **** if they sent it or not. Never heard back from the prick and I assume he was bullshiting. The problem with these scams are that once you send money they won't stop there and will try and rinse you for everything you have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamboelite Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 23 hours ago, bobsharp said: I m+ay have over reacted, but was caught once before. When I first got Windows 10, I stopped gettin Word. I bought a Microsoft CD, and downloaded it. A message came up saying that I had a problem and call this number, as it was on a legitimately purchased CD I did. Suddenly all my files started flashing through my screen, I called the number back and asked what was going on they told me that I had viruses but at a price they could fix them, I declined less than kindly. It cost me $200 to get my now locked PC fixed. I got a call a few days later saying I was owe for the contract I had taken out, again profanity prevailed. Since then I have been getting calls from the same people on a regular basis. At the time of my post on here I was getting them daily, so I was really defensive but i now suspect wrongly. Hey Bob nothing wrong with being vigilant and always worth an ask on JKB or being over cautious. ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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