Windows Scam
 

I know this has been posted before but I just want to make sure everyone is aware of this. I just received a phone call from - Windows 8. The man said he was calling to tell me Windows and Microsoft wanted to let me know the reason my computer was slow, and had other problems was because someone had hacked my computer and it had viruses on it. Wanted to have me turn on my computer(it was already on). So I asked for his information and said I would call back. This is the information I was told.
Company name: 24 Technel Care
Address: 22 Broadway Street, White Plains NY
His stated number: 914 290-4992 ask for Ext.5410
Number on my caller ID: 474 475-1328
Don't be fooled this is not Microsoft. I called Microsoft and reported this. And was told never give information to someone who calls you like this. You have to call them at the official number during normal business hours.
Hope this helps prevent these crooks from getting anyone's personal information.
Judy

If you get one of these calls, (and I am HOPING I do!!) , pretend you are going along with everything they say (don't really do anything to your computer). Then after a few minutes, say - "Wait a minute - something just popped up on my computer screen." They will ask, what does it say?

"It says - WARNING - the person on the other end of the phone is trying to scam you!!"

I've had several of these calls. One caller I told my computer was in the shop, they hung up. Another one said the shop couldn't fix it, only Microsoft. blah, blah,...caller ID said call was from a phone booth?? Weird.... I've several of these calls...have hung up on them.
I know I'm not alone getting these calls.

I had a caller tell me my computer needed to be checked because of a nasty Trojan virus. I told him no it didn't, because my brand new computer was still being built.

He hung up on me.

:D Love this!!

I got such a call yesterday. I told him outright this is a scam. He hung up. But another time it was a prank call . Have you gotten one? My son did it. It's prerecorded but sound very realistic with natural pauses in conversation, so i didn't know it was a prank call.

A guy with a thick Indian accent asked if my computer was running slowly. I said yes. (Mind you, I wasn't going to give him any info, but get enough from him to report him. When he became bothersome, i said my son is in IT and can fix any problem. But he THEN said he would be charging my credit card $15 for 45 seconds of professional expertise. I, of course, wasn't thinking how could he without my cc number? And yelled, "oh, no you will not!" And hung up. My son could hear every word and was laughing his head off!

Love this!!

This is the best response I have heard... I am going to use this !

That would be a great response.

Thank you for the heads up!

I like this! Will do this next time.

Fortunately I've never received/answered any such call. We have caller ID and NEVER answer when the number/caller is not recognized. Rarely does the caller leave a message. If they do, it's to tell me they can lower my credit card rates, or mortgage rates...neither of which we have!!

My husband has Alzheimer's and I try to beat him to the phone when it rings. When he answers he believes what they tell him and I really have to monitor what he says. What a sad situation it is when people like this take advantage of others.

Seems there is always a bad side to everything wonderful! Don't have Windows 8, but appreciate the warning. To the responders I love how you have handled the calls and plan on using some of your replies.

caller ID is great! If I don't know the number-they can leave a message. most don't.

Barb that's a great one I'll have to remember that.

Always a scam going on out there...You need to be on your toes....

It is a good thing that I have read all of these because I just now got a phone call telling me that my computer was having errors on it and they were going to help me get rid of them. I told this person that I read all about their scams and not to call me. Thank you for posting this scam for all of us to read and be prepared when it happens to know that it is a scam.

I get this call about three times a week. I'll use your comeback line next time.

Oh, never put your real number, use a fake number when signing up for anything online. I use our local weather recording number. Email is all that is needed for online places to contact you.

I had a call a few days ago that my "Home & Gardens" magazine subscription was about to expire. Home & Gardens said I...I don't even know that magazine. I haven't taken it for years because I don't want it. and I hung up. Didn't even know the proper name of the magazine and hoped to scam money out of me. The nerve! Of course he was referring to Better Homes and Gardens, but what a bonehead!

I love these replys, lol. We have caller id and don't pick up either if the name or number doesn't show we know them.

What a low life to have such a job to technically 'rob' people. Shame on them.

We also screen calls, and I was dismayed to discover last week that a call coming repeatedly from "Out of Area" was actually my doctor's office trying to reach me with some routine test results. Results were negative, but I might have been missing something more urgent. I have to talk to them about what shows up as their ID. I got to thinking that it might be a deliberate effort to protect people's privacy, since that is one big concern lately. If it says "Doctor So-and-so" then someone in the vicinity of the phone might discover you've been seeing a doctor, and particularly at work, that might cause concern. There's a lot of paranoia around these days, some of it justified.

We are on the do-not-call list, and so almost all the unknown callers we get are either scammers, non-profits, or politicians. I could do without any of those calls, and immediately hang up on any recording. The most despicable ones are the ones that are silent when you do pick up, or worse yet they ask for one of us and then hang up without a word when we say, "Can't come to the phone." When it's a solicitor, I just interrupt and tell them as kindly as I can, "Sorry, I won't waste your time. We do not respond to any kind of phone solicitation. Please take us off your list." I hang up without listening to an argument. I'm really doing them a favor because in many cases they are required to stay on the line until the other person hangs up. The calls are often monitored, so they don't dare disconnect themselves, even if you're one who just likes to have fun with them. I've known people who say things like, "Please hang on. I need to go answer the door," and just go off leaving the caller hanging for however long they feel like it.

I feel very sorry for people who try to earn a legitimate living in these most reviled jobs, but if everyone had enough sense to shut them out - never buy anything, never donate anything via phone calls that you didn't initiate, and most certainly never, ever give information to strangers - we might quit getting these nuisance calls. When I was young, back in the Dark Ages, we never had pests calling us unless we had the misfortune of actually knowing them.

Good one! This would be a good time to buy an air horn!

First time I said I knew they were scammers, they hung up. Next call I said I don't have a computer. Again the person hung up. Haven't heard from them again.

Have you tried a police whistle? They make a lovely racket, and I'd think anyone you used it on would have ringing ears for quite a while. <G> I use mine regularly... but them I'm totally unfriendly to junk calls!

I accidentally answered one day. I told them that my other line was ringing and could they call me back on a different number. I gave them the sheriff's department number. Haven't had a call since and if I do, it just might be the State Police or the Attorney General's office they get the next time. Mary

Some people just have TOO much time on their hands!