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Advance PC Care Scam


Oedo 808

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I just had a weird phone call today telling me I had a virus on my computer.

He said he was calling from "Advance PC Care" technical support to tell me I had malware software on my PC that had reported the problem online. (Apparently my computer reports technical issues to companies I've never heard of)

This was "destroying my files and had already damaged 500 files on my PC".

He asked me to go on my computer so I asked him "which one would you like me to go on? I have several" and he said the one running XP.

I told him none of my machines ran on XP but he continued regardless. He then asked if I was on my computer right now so I said yes. He than asked me to click on "Start", to right-click on "Computer" and select "Manage". He then took me through another few menus and asked if I could see some kind of information. I said I couldn't and he said, "That is the problem, already the information is not showing".

I kept stringing him along for a while asking stupid questions (the longer he talks to me the more time he's not trying to con someone else) but eventually I asked him how he would fix the problem. It turns out they would need remote access. At which point I started laughing and the phone call ended. I don't know how the scam works but I assume they'd stick a pile of viruses on my PC then delete them "in front of my eyes" to charge me a fortune for the privilege.

I have never heard of this scam before but I thought I'd let you all know about it. I'm sure all you guys would see through this a mile off, but if they're working through Aberdeen numbers just now it might be worth telling your friends or relatives to be wary.

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I had a call like this a couple of weeks back but hung up as soon as he said "there is a problem with your computer" as a work colleague had the same thing a few weeks back.

Don't suppose you have Sky broadband/phone do you Bob?

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At work I meet lots of customers who have been daft enough to allow these scammers to remotely control their PC. The scam artists then usually move the documents folder to a semi-hiddden location and then they ask the customer to check for any recent letter they wrote.

Of course when the customer looks it does not appear to be there.

The scammers don't bother to search the PC for passwords and credit card details - they simply ask for the customers credit card numbers and charge them about 100 to eliminate the virus and recover their documents.

Lots of customers are reluctant to tell the police or trading standards that someone has made a fool of them. After all they gave them access to their PC and gave them their CC numbers.

Another customer this week gave her credit card and bank details to someone who e-mailed saying she had won a lottery. Apparently the thought that you couldn't win something you did not enter - did not enter her head.

I believe these crooks are based in Manchester and they definitely don't have UK accents.

Good Robert that you kept them hanging on the line - after all you are the 60 minute man:)

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I often reply to scam e-mails too. I just like to waste their time a bit.

Don't do that. Seriously.

I did that at my old work for a laugh... got bombarded with scam Emails, not just on my workstation but everyones. Aye Im talking bombarded, from 1 or 2 a day to 100 - 200 a day, until IT sorted it that is.

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There's quite a few of these scams going around. Basically the same deal, get remote access, infect the PC or hide data, ask for a sum of cash to put right something that wasn't wrong before they called. Some claim to be from microsoft themselves. The most prolific one that I know of seems to be based in India.

Never reply to spam ( it's not even a good idea to open them, depending on your email security settings), if they know the email account is active they can sell your email address to other spammers.

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My mother-in-law got one of these calls yesterday. The caller claimed to be from BT and said there were viruses on her PC. Thankfully she smelled a rat (she has never owned a computer) and told them where to go. BT were worse than useless when she reported the problem, however. They said they couldn't help unless she had the caller's number. Surely if BT were concerned about someone using their name in vain in this way they'd find a way to trace it?

I use their name in vain all the time, biggest scammers out there.

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Ashamed to say that I fell for a very dubious scam recently which was similar to this. I was on a forum when my anti-virus scanner popped up to tell me there was a virus on the site trying to gain access to my computer. I clicked block, and a Windows box popped up saying something like "Anti-Virus XP 2010 has detected 12 suspect files on your computer. Would you like to clean / remove these files?" or words to that effect. I clicked "Yes", assuming that this was the anti-virus doing it's job. Then it started doing scans and downloading files and shit, then it said that I would have to pay $100 for the full version of Anti-Virus XP 2010. That's when I remember I use AVG....

Of course, the "Anti-Virus XP 2010" was the virus that my actual anti-virus was warning me about. When I inadvertantly installed it, the fucking thing blocked my Internet Explorer and pretty much froze up my computer with it constant virus warning and scans. It looked really convinving though....

:dunce:

Antivirus XP 2010 Removal Instructions

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This sounds legit though, right?

Dear Friend

I am Mr Dukas Zungrana, the bill and exchange manager at the foreign remittance department of bank of Africa . I got your contact from the burkina chamber,while seaching for an honest and trust worthy person, who will assist me to implement this transfer, I discovered the sum of (Twenty Nine Millon United States Dollars) (USD29 M) belonging to a deceased customer of this bank,The fund has been lying in a suspence account without anybody coming to put claim over the money since the account owner is dead he was involved in an accident that all his entire family died in the incident.

The said fund is now ready for transfer to a foriegn account whose owner will be portrayed as the beneficiary to the deceased customer of the bank.

Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next if kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidlines and laws but unfortunately we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim.

It is therefore upon this discovery that I decided to make this business proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and I don't want this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed bill.

The banking law and guidline here stipulates that if such money remained unclaimed after five years, the money will be transfered into the bank treasury as unclaimed fund. The request of foreigner as next of kin in this business is occassioned by the fact that the customer was a foreigner and a Burkinabe cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner. I therefore soliciting for your assistance to come forward as the next of kin.

I have agreed that 30% of this money will be for you as the beneficiary in respect of the provision of your Account and services rendered, 60% would be for me while 10% will be for expencses incured during the cause of this transaction If the money is transferred to your Account from bank of africa, I and my family in this transaction will proceed immediately to your country for our own share of the money.

I expect you to keep this business strictly confidential and secret as you may wish to know that I am Bank official. Be rest assured that this business is 100% risk free on both side and every arrangement to transfer this money to the Account you are going to provide have been concluded provided we maintain the confidentiality and secreceirity involved. Contact me on my email address I am looking forward for your prompt response.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Dukas Zungrana.

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Guest Tam o' Shantie
My mother-in-law got one of these calls yesterday. The caller claimed to be from BT and said there were viruses on her PC. Thankfully she smelled a rat (she has never owned a computer) and told them where to go. BT were worse than useless when she reported the problem, however. They said they couldn't help unless she had the caller's number. Surely if BT were concerned about someone using their name in vain in this way they'd find a way to trace it?

BT staff in general have no way of looking at this data, only the police do.

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