I just received a telephone call from an 'asian' sounding woman saying she was from a microsoft approved maintenance organization and that they have been monitoring faults on my computer

When she started the 'phishing' routine I said to her " you must think I'm a @%$%*$% lemon" and hung-up

She called from this number 005055490347 ... be warned, do not answer any of their questions!

Mike.

Have a couple in the past myself, pain in the bum aren't they
Anyone with caller I.D. should be able to tell from the number that it is from far far away

But still one to watch out for

Brian

Hiya Mike,

Yea, I've had a few of these since I returned to the UK.

If I have the time, I keep them talking for as long as possible and ask 'dumb' questions and lead them on as much as possible. It's when they get to the bit about calling the Microsoft Support desk to sort out the errors on a premium number that I keep getting the numbers confused until eventually they give up on the old f@rt.

Do I need 00 in front of that?
Is that a country code?
Should I take the 0 off the front?
Then get the numbers in the wrong order and so on.

Eventually they just hang up.
There one second, gone the next.

It's costing them (not much I grant) but it's still costing them.

All the best,
John.

I too get frequent phone calls from 'India' saying my computer is sending Microsoft error reports (or similar) and they will fix my computer for me. And I'm sure 'fix it' they would do if I let them!

Then there are the 'automated' phone calls from eg. Government Schemes for something or other. What I am finding these days is that as people won't answer to 'International' calls or withheld numbers, they make sure they are using a 'proper' telephone number to ring from so you will answer it. If you get one of these calls from an identifiable number (and I had four the other day from the same number) then BT tell me I can BAN that number from ringing me again (so long as it is an indentifiable number). Just dial 1572 and you have an option to add the number that last called you to your personal 'blacklist'. Just press the 1. They repeat the number to you to make sure that really is the number you want banned, and you confirm it. And you can always 'un-ban' the number later if you so wish. I know they can change to another number to ring from, but doing that is a start, anyway.

This is with BT .. don't know what other companies do .. but they must do something similar. Ring and ask them.

Hugh

When I get calls from firms at odd hours, I tell them that I am busy but if they would care to give me their home phone number
I will call them later on in the evening. Just trying to make a point.
Brian

On one of the calls I received about a problem with my 'Windows' I explained that I would hand the phone to my technical adviser. i.e. my son. He took great pains to describe that when he had a problem with 'Windows' he used a good quality chamois leather and a bucket of warm soapy water. .. Fred

The same scam is going on in the US. Microsoft won't initiate a call to anyone. You ever try to contact Microsoft on the phone?

Hi

The MicroSoft scam has been doing the rounds for some years now - one of my former church members was caught by it. I had a phone call on the church line a few weeks later - same scam. I let them waffle on for a bit, describing what they thought the problems were - and then took great delight in telling them that there was no computer on that phone line!

Every Blessing

Tony