http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/18/phone-scam-india-call-centres
“Sir, I call you back because your wife told me she is not allowed to use the computer without her husbands permission”
I just got a call from a man with an indian accent following exactly the same call template as you can read about in the link above. My computer was at risk, it had a virus, but he could help!
Puzzled by this friendly stranger i let the call go on, explaning that I was myself working as a sysadmin, this did not deter his resolution in helping me in the slightest. It should be noted that this was the third of fourth time he called me, from a number in the USA. This might seem strange in itself, but I run a lot of internet sites so I have been getting a bit more love from US spammers in the past.
Here is what i was asked to do:
- click the start button
- right click on “my computer”
- click on manage
- click on event viewer
- click on Application logs
… and right there i stopped the call because i knew what was coming next. The pitch is that in the application logs there are quite a lot of Errors and Warnings. This is completely normal for a Windows computer, but look intimidating to the average user. If i had let the call continue I would have been offered a “fix” that would have involved me installing malware on the computer and handing over my credit card information.
So consider yourself warned! These are professional scammers and they sound very gentle and persuasive. I have notified the police and local media.. and my mom. And the quote at the top is genuine, i have the best wife ever.
