Microsoft Scam -Beware flashing warnings

As we never know what is going on in someone's life, an unpleasant post may just be enough to tip them over the edge. It is worth thinking before you post.
I'm sorry to learn that Teetime has actually left, not just taken a break.

Yes, I've tried to PM her but it isn't possible.

Blossoming

Unfortunately Teetime has left GN. I hope those posters are proud of themselves.

Some nasty comments on this thread. They should be ashamed.

Unfortunately Teetime has left GN. I hope those posters are proud of themselves.

Kalu

What an unnecessary and uncalled for response Hetty. Not everyone is a smart arse like yourself.

Thanks for the warning Teetime and I appreciate your thinking of others. ?

Well said - completely agree Kalu ???
Teetime thank you for the warning!

Thank you Teetime for letting us know.

My husband had his Microsoft account hacked last year. We are so used to receiving scam messages he must have deleted the one genuine one from MS asking about the change of his phone number! Had he seen it he might have reacted before whoever had hacked his account had paid £90 for an X-Box game on his registered credit card and changed his phone number in order to authorise it. It took ages to sort it out with both them and the credit card company who wouldn't believe he didn't have an X-Box and hadn't ordered the game. I guess he was lucky they hadn't ordered anything else on his card. The best way to be sure about these things is to ignore the mail or text and make contact with the bank etc the way you would normally to check the authenticity.

I used to work in an electronics company, and one day I got an email from the CEO of the company in the States. It said he needed me to do something urgently. Now I had never met the CEO, but my boss and my boss's boss were both on holiday, so I thought he might have worked his way down the hierarchy and got to me. He wasn't the kind of person who liked to be kept waiting.

The email said something like, "contact me on this email address, I'm working from home today". We'd just had some security training so I spotted that the email wasn't one from our company and asked IT about it. Turned out to be a scam of course.

But I was that close to clicking on that link, the email looked very authentic and even had the company footer etc. Point of the story is that anyone can be taken in, well done for stopping the scam in time Teetime

The best thing to do when anything strange happens to your computer is to switch it off immediately and unplug it too. When you put it back on a few minutes later, normally it will work as usual. If not, then get a trusted person to look at it at home;no reputable company asks for money up front.

Thank you Teetime, it’s always good to get a reminder to be careful. Well done to have spotted the problem, many wouldn’t. These scammers are very plausible and it’s easy to be taken in.

Thank you Teetime, there can never be enough reminders regarding scams, there are so many different types and one is bound to sneak in under the radar. Perhaps we should have a separate forum made just for scam examples and reminders, so that those of us who would never be taken in can avoid it. I think the phrase for some people would be ‘pride goes before a fall’, hopefully they will never experience it.

I had the klaxon, flashing warnings etc a few months ago on my pc.
I did ignore it, but it made me jump. However, even though I ignored it, I had subsequent problems with the computer, it had to go back to JL, luckily under guarantee still and they put in a new hard drive.

In fact, I hadn't connected the two things until now, so thank you Teetime.
So even if you ignore this, is it possible you can be get a computer virus or be hacked?

Or was it a coincidence?

I get a Microsoft problem message every time I switch on, which I ignore.

Thanks for heads up teetime ?
My DH is usually quite computer savvy, However last year my DD happened to stop him from clicking on a very iffy link in the Nick of time.
Anyone can have a 'computer' off day and live regret it.

Thankyou Teetime ignore Hetty her response was unpleasant and smug.
Thankyou for taking the time too inform us.
Hetty's response is the reason more people dont open up about being scammed, they feel embarrassed and silly, no reason to as some of these scams are very clever.

Oh but if Hetty or oopsminty get scammed they won't come on here and warn us, will they? They'd be too ashamed I should think
I am so sorry that you got such horrible comments teetime - thank you from me for be so helpful and some for you x

Better not take your eyes off the ball Hetty and oopsminty, you could be next with your fate tempting comments. Thank you teetime, much appreciated.

What an unnecessary and uncalled for response Hetty. Not everyone is a smart arse like yourself.

Thanks for the warning Teetime and I appreciate your thinking of others. ?

Just this morning, I received an email from a neighbour that said

"Good Morning Chewbacca,

How are you doing today?
I need a favour from you, I’m unavailable on phone, kindly let me know if you are online.

Await your swift response.

Regards
Bernard"

My neighbour is called Bernard so nothing to be alarmed about. Instead of replying to the email, I nipped out into the garden and called to Bernard's wife and asked if all was ok, I'd seen his email. Wife looks nonplussed. She went into get Bernard to ask him about the email. Bernard knows nothing about it. By the time I'd gone back in to get my tablet to show him the email, another email had come in to say:

"Dear Chewbacca

WARNING!!!

If you receive the e-mail below do not reply to it. It is a scam.

^Secretary – Ladies Probus^"

Would you have known?

I think I'm quite savvy but got caught out by someone who worked for a very reputable firm when I was returning goods ordered over the internet and re-ordering over the phone. The sales assistant must have taken down the details of my credit card and used them to buy herself and her friends a lovely Christmas.
The firm, when contacted, said there was no-one of that name working for them.

Not a big international scam but worrying enough.

My daughter, a very intelligent young woman, was taken in by this scam a few years ago. She had given birth the previous week and blamed her lapse of concentration on “baby brain” I arrived at her house and she was hunched over her lap top deep in conversation and following instructions. She whispered to me “major problem, they’re helping me sort it now”

My alarm bells were ringing and I was making all sorts of gestures to her to end the call. She was making gestures to me to zip it!

She eventually came to her senses and listened to me and cut him off. But, I’ve no doubt if I hadn’t arrived when I did she’d have followed it through and given the scammer her bank details as she’d been lured into believing her computer was about to crash. These people are the lowest of the low and are experts at what they do.

Thank you Teetime. Always good to be reminded to be alert. I almost fell for the Amazon scam and just at the last minute decided to check with my son. I don’t even know why I got so close to being caught out. I have some dozy days so a refresher to be alert is valuable.

Teetime seems, particularly recently, using any devices, including the phone, is rife with scammers, thanks.

Teetime I'm so sorry that you have had your head bitten off, so to speak, and I thank you for the warning. Some of these scams are very plausible indeed, and although we all would like to think that we wouldn't be caught out, it's obvious that this isn't the case as these scams continue to appear and fool many people - some are very clever and very convincing. I'm so glad that you have got it sorted out now. ?

Hetty58

Teetime, onviously your DH is not 'very computer savvy' at all. Surely, most people know about these scams?

Unpleasant and unnecessary comment don't you think Hetty? If you're so smart and tech savvy that you're quite certain you'd never be scammed, well, that's grand for you. Others are possibly not quite so self assured.

I see Teetime has left us.
Well done !