Anatomy of a Scam Call
I was working at the church last night when the following happened:
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Phone rings at the church…
Me: Hudson United Methodist Church, how may I help you?
Him: Hello, this is (unintelligible) from Microsoft, calling to alert you that we have detected a great deal of virus and hacker activity coming from your computer. (The man had a thick Indian accent. I think it's supposed to add legitimacy to the caller.)
Me: Oh? (At this point I sit down in one of the comfy chairs in the chapel) Like what kind of activity?
Him: We’ve detected several viruses installing themselves while you are viewing Facebook and also reading your email. These problems will cause your computer to run very slow.
Me: Wow. You guys are really on top of things.
Him: I need you to be in front of your computer right now.
Me: Okay, you bet. I’m there right now. (I actually haven’t moved.)
Him: What are you doing on your computer right now?
Me: Waiting.
pause…
Him: What are you doing?
Me: I’m waiting for you to tell me. You told me to get in front of my computer, and I did.
Him: Okay, what do you see?
Me: Nothing.
pause…
Him: Nothing?
Me: Nothing.
Him: There’s nothing on your screen?
Me: No. My computer’s off.
Him: (sounding agitated) Well I need you to turn on your computer.
Me: Well you should have said that before. Okay, it’s powering on now. (Again, I haven’t moved from the comfy chair and am nowhere near my computer.)
Him: OK now what do you see?
Me: Starting Windows.
pause…
Him: I don’t have time for this.
Me: Excuse me? You told me to get in front of my computer and I did. Didn’t you tell me that there’s a bunch of things wrong with my computer?
Him: Yes…
Me: OK well my computer is slow. It’ll boot up. Didn’t you tell me a little while ago that my problems will make my computer run slow?
Him: OK what do you see now?
Me: I’m at a login screen. So you work at Microsoft?
Him: Yes.
Me: In Redmond?
Him: Excuse me?
Me: In Redmond, Washington?
Him: Yes. I mean no, in New Jersey.
Me: Oh, I didn’t realize Microsoft had a security center in New Jersey.
Him: Yes we do.
Me: Wow. You learn something new every day.
Him: What does your computer say now?
Me: I’m at a login screen.
Him: Still?
Me: Yes, you didn’t tell me to log in.
At this point he hung up on me.
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People get scammed by this kind of thing all the time. In fact, I personally know someone who gave one of these people money to “fix” their “problem.” Please be aware that no legitimate company will call you out of the blue to tell you when you have problems. If you receive a call like this, call your local police or get in touch with your state police cyber-crime unit. Make sure you give them the number that called you, if you have it. In my case last night, they did not block their number, so I was able to get their number off the caller ID.
My recommendation is NOT to mess with them like I did. I just like kicking the hornet’s nest. Just take their information and report them.
-------------------
Phone rings at the church…
Me: Hudson United Methodist Church, how may I help you?
Him: Hello, this is (unintelligible) from Microsoft, calling to alert you that we have detected a great deal of virus and hacker activity coming from your computer. (The man had a thick Indian accent. I think it's supposed to add legitimacy to the caller.)
Me: Oh? (At this point I sit down in one of the comfy chairs in the chapel) Like what kind of activity?
Him: We’ve detected several viruses installing themselves while you are viewing Facebook and also reading your email. These problems will cause your computer to run very slow.
Me: Wow. You guys are really on top of things.
Him: I need you to be in front of your computer right now.
Me: Okay, you bet. I’m there right now. (I actually haven’t moved.)
Him: What are you doing on your computer right now?
Me: Waiting.
pause…
Him: What are you doing?
Me: I’m waiting for you to tell me. You told me to get in front of my computer, and I did.
Him: Okay, what do you see?
Me: Nothing.
pause…
Him: Nothing?
Me: Nothing.
Him: There’s nothing on your screen?
Me: No. My computer’s off.
Him: (sounding agitated) Well I need you to turn on your computer.
Me: Well you should have said that before. Okay, it’s powering on now. (Again, I haven’t moved from the comfy chair and am nowhere near my computer.)
Him: OK now what do you see?
Me: Starting Windows.
pause…
Him: I don’t have time for this.
Me: Excuse me? You told me to get in front of my computer and I did. Didn’t you tell me that there’s a bunch of things wrong with my computer?
Him: Yes…
Me: OK well my computer is slow. It’ll boot up. Didn’t you tell me a little while ago that my problems will make my computer run slow?
Him: OK what do you see now?
Me: I’m at a login screen. So you work at Microsoft?
Him: Yes.
Me: In Redmond?
Him: Excuse me?
Me: In Redmond, Washington?
Him: Yes. I mean no, in New Jersey.
Me: Oh, I didn’t realize Microsoft had a security center in New Jersey.
Him: Yes we do.
Me: Wow. You learn something new every day.
Him: What does your computer say now?
Me: I’m at a login screen.
Him: Still?
Me: Yes, you didn’t tell me to log in.
At this point he hung up on me.
------------------
People get scammed by this kind of thing all the time. In fact, I personally know someone who gave one of these people money to “fix” their “problem.” Please be aware that no legitimate company will call you out of the blue to tell you when you have problems. If you receive a call like this, call your local police or get in touch with your state police cyber-crime unit. Make sure you give them the number that called you, if you have it. In my case last night, they did not block their number, so I was able to get their number off the caller ID.
My recommendation is NOT to mess with them like I did. I just like kicking the hornet’s nest. Just take their information and report them.