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Technology

phone call from Microsoft SCAM

(15 Posts)
annodomini Mon 01-Sep-14 13:10:58

DS2 pretended to be totally taken in: 'Oh, really? How terrible! What can I do about it? Please tell me what's wrong with it....' And so on, until they couldn't answer any of his questions and cut him off.

J52 Mon 01-Sep-14 12:26:15

Janthea, I'll try that one next time! X

janthea Mon 01-Sep-14 11:37:07

The last one I received was also about my computer. I just kept saying 'hello, hello. Is there someone there. I can't hear you. It's a terrible line' They kept trying to talk to me and I kept up with same refrain. They hung up. Result!! grin

J52 Mon 01-Sep-14 08:20:48

In the last 24 hrs I have had two of these calls. The last one was from a young man called Yardley David! He must have been new to it as he stumbled over his script and maybe got his false name the wrong way round.
I just give a huge laugh and tell them to 'shove off ' with their scam! I wonder if their English training translates 'shove off'!

Perhaps there could be a Gransnet game for phrases used to get them to go away - or even just confuse them! X

annodomini Sun 31-Aug-14 21:02:47

I just tell them I have an Apple Mac, which isn't true but it shuts them up.

GrumpyOldMan Sun 31-Aug-14 20:44:34

We kept getting these calls and after a number of times putting the phone down on them I decided to string them along!!
So they asked me to press the windows key and r. I did so they asked what happened I said nothing. We kept on like this with them asking me to do things and me religiously following their instructions and getting nowhere. Eventually some bright spark had the idea to ask what operating system I was using. "Oh Linux" I said. they put the phone down quick and I have not been bothered for some time!

lisaansley Sat 05-Jul-14 17:38:16

It looks like this is one scam that just won't go away. I found several threads of complaints at www.callercenter.com and I was amazed to read that the earliest complaints on this particular scam was lodged way back 16 of September, 2011!!! This scam's been around for a long time now and it's still thriving.

lisaansley Sat 05-Jul-14 17:34:20

Had a call before from someone claiming to be a security expect from Microsoft. He claimed their system monitored something wrong in my computer and he offered to help fix it. I didn't know about the scam, then. But I thought what the caller said was suspicious. No way my computer wound send alerts to Microsoft. Lol! I got a MAC. I hung up.

durhamjen Fri 04-Jul-14 22:40:03

I had one on Tuesday, said I didn't have a computer, then half an hour later had a phone call from the same number. This person said she had noticed that I had an increase in unwanted phone calls. So I told her that I didn't mind as sometimes it was the only person I spoke to all day.
After she put the phone down, my grandson said, "That was one of those fibs again, wasn't it?"
I told him he's not allowed to do it.

Scooter58 Fri 04-Jul-14 21:32:13

My friend also got stung with these people,lost a few hundred pounds.

sunseeker Fri 04-Jul-14 20:18:15

Just ask them for a password (they don't know you haven't set a password with Microsoft) - it usually means they put the phone down

Ana Fri 04-Jul-14 20:10:07

Yes of course. I'm sure there are still some who haven't heard about it...

jinglbellsfrocks Fri 04-Jul-14 19:57:49

Good to get a heads up though. Thanks jeanie.

Ana Fri 04-Jul-14 19:29:04

Goodness, the microsoft scam has been going on for years - an elderly friend of mine fell for it and had a large sum of money taken from her bank account (she'd given the caller her details!!!).

We get the calls occasionally, I either say I haven't got a computer or just put the phone down.

jeanie99 Fri 04-Jul-14 19:22:21

I've received yet another call from the so called guys at Microsoft
wanting to know if I am having problems with my computer.

I do hope people don't fall for this scam.

I've attached a link which my son passed on to me for information.

www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx

PASS on to friends please if they are not aware of the dangers.