About Your Windows Computer... Phone Call

That was the first time I've gotten that call. There was a group that was after my mother and led her to install malware and were using remote access to prove her computer was compromised. So I went in and sealed all remote access points and purged her system of malware. They called again and I told them the problem was taken care of, and they tried to get on to prove a point, and were locked out. Boy, were they mad.

@OneOfMany It was so good you have the knowledge to do that for her.

@OneOfMany Some instructions I can follow. Technology, not so much.

I liked that it came to me instantly without any additional thought necessary. And he hung up instantly, so much for tact!

@OneOfMany Soon the fact that I use Linux will be the truth because I have enough of Windows.

@LadyDuck So far 10 hasn't been giving me issues, but I figure it's a matter of time.

I read online about an elderly woman, I think she's in her late seventies, who got one of those calls and she ended up paying several hundred dollars to these con-artists. Then her computer really was infected and she took it to a repair shop and as of when I read the story she'd been unable to get it back because she couldn't afford the $50+ it cost. I know that's not a large amount of money but for some elderly people on fixed incomes it's food and medicine to get through the rest of the month.

I love the ones that call and say; "we're going to reduce your electric bill next month and save you money" and I say "oh thanks so much for telling me, I really did think I was paying too much. Thanks for all your hard work!" And then they get flustered, telling me they haven't saved anything yet, and I ask them why they bothered getting my hopes up for nothing. Then I hang up.

@OneOfMany oh no that's awful. I don't know how these people sleep at night.

@OneOfMany that's terrible. How do these people sleep at night ?

Apparently the older generations have on occasion. If you don't know enough about computers you might be scared into making a bad decision.

To convince me that I needed to install malware on my computer so that he could access it remotely and then scam me into removing the fake virus by paying them money. They tried that scam with my mother and I intervened.

That's a nice response. I tend to mess with them more than scold them. Unless it's a woman caller, but for those types of scams I haven't heard one yet. Hopefully they don't think women aren't computer savvy, because I knew a few in college that were. I'd be nicer to a woman on the phone...

@msiduri I usually get asked almost daily, "Are you the person in charge of the electric bill?" I hate that one. No matter how many times you tell them to remove you, 50,000 others are waiting. One organization calls my father all the time trying to get him to donate to them. Whenever I had to house sit I would tell the people at the beginning of the week that they would have to delay their calls for a week because the person they wanted isn't there. Every day I would get the call and after the 3rd time I just started yelling at them and venting my frustrations for not listening to me. I was told that they aren't the same organization and that they use other callers, but for not even the message to be passed ticked me off. They got an earful of rage each day. I don't like to be called when I have already been polite.

@OneOfMany I've gotten women called as well, though not for that scam. They usually call for charities. Interestingly enough, my husband answered a call from "Windows" this morning. I just heard, "Yes... yes... That's funny. I run Linux."

It's a popular fear tactic. I've heard of people getting taken for a ride and their computers are messed up afterwards, and also wide open to them so they can do whatever else they want. It would be nice to be able to stop these people.

It's like when I get the calls about my vehicle warranty expiring, I tell them that it expired a long time ago... it is a used car after all! They never are quite sure how to respond to that.

I got one of those once and wrote down the number they were calling from and traced it to California. I held them on the line until I brought up a number of complaints and asked them where they were calling from, and they said it was somewhere in the midwest. So I countered them, and asked them about why their company was so sketchy and asked if I could talk to their manager, and they hung up. I had a next door neighbor that would blow a police whistle next to the receiver. She was brutal.

Every now and then I'm curious what the call might be about because I'm in the type of business where I have unknown callers calling me often. But as soon as I heard the background static I never what it was. -sigh-

I need to try that some time. I bet it's fun. :)

I'd rather not be mean to these people, so I would rather they never contact me to begin with, but that's just wishful thinking. :)

"Computers are built with viruses preinstalled so you have to buy anti-virus. Didn't you know that's the trick of computer companies?" Good thing they weren't smart enough to come up with that answer. :P