Fisching

[Sue]

I am wondering whether I have been targeted for some sort of fisching scam today. We had a telephone call this morning and a gentleman speaking English with a Parkistani/Indian accent asked to speak to me. He then proceeded to tell me he is with Windows (I immediately thought double glazing salesman) and that I use Windows. He said that they had detected a very dangerous virus on my laptop. I said I wasnt interested in what he had to say. He pressed on about how bad this virus is and what it could do to my PC and did I understand. I said that I understood but again was not interested. To this he said didnt I trust them to which I answered no with which he put down the phone without another word. Has anyone else experienced this?

[Ian]

Yes it has been going on for a couple of years now in the UK. I don't fully understand it, but they use similar technology to "Help Desk" staff in large companies to whom you give permission to access your computer to sort out problems. All very legitimate and good.

The guy who phoned you will be doing something different like stealing personal information as well as putting software on your computer so they can remote access it anytime they want for nefarious purposes and also the usual Trojan Horse nasty stuff.

Treat them like any cold caller put them on hold to run up their phone bill until they get bored.

Or ask them how they know you have a laptop??!

[CD]

Keep stringing them along as long as you can, then tell them you've got a Mac!

Cherrs,

Chris

[Sue]

Think I flummoxed him when I said I didnt trust "them", whoever they may be!

[Owens88]

Ask them where they got your phone number from. Persist. Don't be fobbed off with 'our database'. Eventually they give up.

Good luck

John