Just got a strange phone call.

So my mother gets this phone call regarding our internet conection. This woman starts telling her that they are recievinga signal that tells them we have a virus. So she hands me the phone and makes me talk to her. I ask her what company she works for and she doesn't respond and just says I should open up Internet Explorer and sh will explain from there. So I ask her if she is going to make me download a AV program or something she just responds that there is something I need to download before their engineers can connect and help. So I ask one more time what company she works for and she doesn't answer my question so I hang up.

Now I'm pretty convinced that this phone call was a scam or something nefarious. But my mother is worried and wont take my word for it can you tell her that people don't just randomly phone up your house to tell you how to get rid of a virus.

So my mother gets this phone call regarding our internet conection. This woman starts telling her that they are recievinga signal that tells them we have a virus. So she hands me the phone and makes me talk to her. I ask her what company she works for and she doesn't respond and just says I should open up Internet Explorer and sh will explain from there. So I ask her if she is going to make me download a AV program or something she just responds that there is something I need to download before their engineers can connect and help. So I ask one more time what company she works for and she doesn't answer my question so I hang up.

Now I'm pretty convinced that this phone call was a scam or something nefarious. But my mother is worried and wont take my word for it can you tell her that people don't just randomly phone up your house to tell you how to get rid of a virus.

6matt6

[QUOTE="6matt6"]

So my mother gets this phone call regarding our internet conection. This woman starts telling her that they are recievinga signal that tells them we have a virus. So she hands me the phone and makes me talk to her. I ask her what company she works for and she doesn't respond and just says I should open up Internet Explorer and sh will explain from there. So I ask her if she is going to make me download a AV program or something she just responds that there is something I need to download before their engineers can connect and help. So I ask one more time what company she works for and she doesn't answer my question so I hang up.

Now I'm pretty convinced that this phone call was a scam or something nefarious. But my mother is worried and wont take my word for it can you tell her that people don't just randomly phone up your house to tell you how to get rid of a virus.

XXI_World

Did she sound cute?

Yeah its a scam. They get you to download a program that gives them easy access to your pc, which has probably got personal information on it. Logins, Credit cards, bank info etc. You did the right thing mate.

Bastards! You should trace that call. Imagine now how many people have they fooled into giving them whatever they want. Also it would be a good idea to contact the police about that.

Did she sound cute?

krisroe_213

lol, yeh did she?

Anyways, you should have scammed her back or scared her by saying, "oh wouldn't you look at that, my mobile phone accidentally called the police and they are tracing this call."

[QUOTE="krisroe_213"]

Did she sound cute?

GTR12

lol, yeh did she?

Anyways, you should have scammed her back or scared her by saying, "oh wouldn't you look at that, my mobile phone accidentally called the police and they are tracing this call."

Bastards! You should trace that call. Imagine now how many people have they fooled into giving them whatever they want. Also it would be a good idea to contact the police about that.

jernas

[QUOTE="jernas"]

Bastards! You should trace that call. Imagine now how many people have they fooled into giving them whatever they want. Also it would be a good idea to contact the police about that.

Daytona_178

in that regard it's a pity he hung up the phone, i would say this is too little to work with to do anything about it. would have been interesting to know what they really wanted to do. i have no experience with this but i would assume if it really was the isp they would contact you through e-mail first as it is costly and time-consuming to call people and try to explain and fix things over the phone.

then again, if it is a scam it seems very stupid to go through the trouble of calling someone up but not having any back-story in place when asked who you are. did the person give any info indicating they actually knew who you are? or was it as random as you make it sound?

also, do a full virus scan just in case ;)

That is a scam. She didn't tell you what company she worked for because she has no clue who your internet service provider is.

I feel sorry for your Mom. You understand and we understand that it was a scam but it can scare people who don't know. Something else I always consider is I rarely trust incoming calls unless the company name shows up on the caller ID and then only if I'm use to that company calling. Never trust anyone that won't give their name and starts asking questions that if they where legit they would know and not ask. Just sayin'.

Actually the ISP will sometimes phone if they see a sign of a bot net, though that's usually with hosting/co-location and business connections. It's simply not worth the cash phoning consumer line admins, they're not worth that much to the company and they don't really do that much damage if they do go haywire. markop2003

call the cops bro. Imagine how much they have stolen from people. you did the right thing :D

Wow through the phone they can be tracked down that way, and it cant be random, and if it would have been a legit company it would have called back, you should report it to the authorities!!

Honestly, since I am a true warrior, I'd just touch her shoulder.

[QUOTE="markop2003"]Actually the ISP will sometimes phone if they see a sign of a bot net, though that's usually with hosting/co-location and business connections. It's simply not worth the cash phoning consumer line admins, they're not worth that much to the company and they don't really do that much damage if they do go haywire. freesafety13