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- Member
Fri Apr 25, 2014 10:39 am
I’d like to warn you all of a new Internet Scam – last night I received a call from someone who said they were ringing from the world wide web because my Network ID was generating error messages and warnings; and that the world wide web would crash if I did not help them resolve the issue !
OK put like that it’s obviously a scam BUT they were very plausible, they had my name, address, telephone number and date of birth !
They insisted they did not want access to my computer and that they would ‘show’ me copies of the error and warning messages they were receiving – all I had to do was follow their instructions to view this information (oh yeh, as if !). They just wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer (if I hung up they rang straight back, so I was on the phone for over 40 minutes being harangued !!!) – I said I was quite prepared to help resolve the issue (not !) so would they please let me write down their instructions and I would confirm with my IT expert and ring them back – they wouldn’t agree to that (wonder why not ?) and said that the WWW does not have incoming telephone lines (well of course it doesn’t, it doesn’t exist as a single entity with offices and staff etc !!!). In the end they got nasty and said if I didn’t co-operate then they had no option but to cancel my network ID and access to the internet. I said OK do that and finally got rid of them.
I did, however, ring my IT friend (he has his own business supplying computer systems to major companies in the UK) –he confirmed what I had thought, that this was indeed a scam and that I had done the right thing in refusing to allow them to “show” me their information.
But as I said, they were very plausible (and threatening) and their ‘threats’ to cancel network ID’s and not allow access to the internet could fool/scare a lot of people into believing their assertions and complying with their request.
OK put like that it’s obviously a scam BUT they were very plausible, they had my name, address, telephone number and date of birth !
They insisted they did not want access to my computer and that they would ‘show’ me copies of the error and warning messages they were receiving – all I had to do was follow their instructions to view this information (oh yeh, as if !). They just wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer (if I hung up they rang straight back, so I was on the phone for over 40 minutes being harangued !!!) – I said I was quite prepared to help resolve the issue (not !) so would they please let me write down their instructions and I would confirm with my IT expert and ring them back – they wouldn’t agree to that (wonder why not ?) and said that the WWW does not have incoming telephone lines (well of course it doesn’t, it doesn’t exist as a single entity with offices and staff etc !!!). In the end they got nasty and said if I didn’t co-operate then they had no option but to cancel my network ID and access to the internet. I said OK do that and finally got rid of them.
I did, however, ring my IT friend (he has his own business supplying computer systems to major companies in the UK) –he confirmed what I had thought, that this was indeed a scam and that I had done the right thing in refusing to allow them to “show” me their information.
But as I said, they were very plausible (and threatening) and their ‘threats’ to cancel network ID’s and not allow access to the internet could fool/scare a lot of people into believing their assertions and complying with their request.
