Beware: Hard Sell

My son received a call yesterday from an gentleman with an Indian accent asking whether he was speaking with Mr. X. Upon confirmation, the caller proceeded to identify himself as Peter Gabriel (by coincidence the same name as the rock star) from Microsoft or Windows and asked whether any of our computers was on and if we were aware that our computers had been attacked by hackers during the last few months. He asked my son to go to the computer and assisted him in looking up the Event Viewer within Windows 7. Obviously, this viewer showed a number of error and warning messages which are created by normal systems activities. The caller then tried to lead my son, who knew better and was playing along, to a website (something like www.fubbort.me). As expected, this website did not load and the caller wanted to use that as proof that our system had been infiltrated. The bad telephone connection with a lot of call centre background noise then gave way and disconnected.

After some 20 minutes, the same person called again and this time I answered the call myself. I asked him which company he worked for and he replied "PC Support and Care". I also asked his telephone number so that I 'could call him back' and to confirm the IP address of my computer (which they should know to be alerted to any infiltrations). He obviously could not provide this information and wanted to continue his hard sell. I asked him to advise whether he was trying to sell me something and then he got really upset and after a rant hung up the phone.

The call was made via a local West Australian number. When I obtained the number from the callback function in my home phone, it rang out as expected. There actually is a company called PC Support and Care and there are blogs/sites where victims discuss their experiences with their hard sell and overpriced support. Some people actually signed up for support at $129 per annum and others bought overpriced anti-spy software from them. They seemed to have been operating mainly in the US, but are now making their way to Australia. So, I thought it was about time for a warning.

When receiving these kind of calls, one should ask for the caller's contact details and for confirmation of details about your own computer such as IP address, operating system and ISP provider without volunteering this information (never provide personal information to strangers...). It sounds obvious, but never provide credit card or bank details to these kind of callers and verify from whom you would buy something in the first place - just like in the real world of brick and mortar. Also, rest assured, good PC protection software from reputable providers or ISPs will catch these kind of infiltrations when they happen.

I trust that Microsoft is aware that their name is used in vain by these kind of sleazy operators and understand it will be hard for them to do anything about it.

Be safe!

Frits