Error report closely followed by scam phone call.
Hi all,4 to 5 days ago, I allowed my systemto make an Error Report after a glitch which made Windows close down. I've not done this before and have hardly any such glitches.Today, I took a phone call from an Indian call centre telling me they were Microsoft responding to my Error Report. They had checked and found I had a Deadly Virus which they could fix if I agreed used their Advance System Protector. This would eliminate the problems I was having (I am NOT having any continuing problems) and would speed up my PC.I could hardly hear what was being said as the headset/phone line were terrible and I told them so.They said I could sign up to their protection system for 70 on-line and my cyber world would be safer and faster.I said if their software was as bad as their phone equipment, I was not interested.However, my REAL concern is that this was the only time I've allowed my Windows system to make an error report. It seems strange that my error report was followed so closely by this scam call.Did did this company get detail of the error report and of my phone number. Or was this simply a coincidence.Thanks for any input.2 people need an answerI do too
November 18th, 2009 4:39pm

The phone call was not from Microsoft. I suspect that your computer is infected and the "Error Report" you got came from the malware, which sounds like a rogue security program. Make sure the computer is clean. http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware Include scanning with David Lipman's Multi_AV and follow instructions to do all scans in Safe Mode. Please see the special Notes regarding using Multi_AV in Vista. http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Multi-AV - instructions http://tinyurl.com/yoeru3 - download link and more instructions If you can't do the work yourself (and there is no shame in admitting this isn't your cup of tea), take the machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad).Please be aware that not all local shops are skilled at removing malware and even if they are, your computer may be so infested that Windows will need to be clean-installed. If possible, have all your data backed up before you take the machine into a shop.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
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November 18th, 2009 6:20pm

Many thanks and I'll use the suggestions and instructions to check the PC's software.
November 19th, 2009 12:56am

Had the same call today and asked the india guy his name and phone number. He Said he was Mark Thomas and his number was 020133 them the line went dead. Think someone at microsoft should get the police involved.
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March 28th, 2010 1:31am

I just received the same phone call with a terrible connection. The line cut out as I was saying that my computer had no problems. An immediate google search turned up this forum. I think it was coincidental you received the call after allowing an error report because error reports do not contain any personal information. This is a good example of phishing by phone because it is a fairly safe assumption that any random household will have a PC with Microsoft products and the average user will think that Microsoft somehow got their phone number from the error report. Also, my computer has not sent any error reports lately.As I was typing this I received another call from someone who started with, "how dare you speak to my agent like that." The scam then went from being a little funny to making me angry. I was not rude at all the first time as all I said was, "my computer has no problems" before the line cut out. I told this 2nd guy exactly that, that I knew this was a scam, and please do not call again. He said his agent would be punished for giving him false information. Not knowing exactly which country they're calling from, this actually concerns me more than the scam itself. What a world.
June 5th, 2010 8:27pm

Yes I have had the same phone call, but strung the person along, he said do you have windows? my reply was yes I am looking through them at the moment, switch on your computer, yes (I hadn't of course but strung him along for over 15 minutes, then got fed up so said the line was so bad and could not hear him , asked him to ring back then let him call my answer machine, still waiting again and of course will string the poor sod along again, they will get fed up before I do.......believe me
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June 6th, 2010 12:01am

Hi Everyone,Microsoft never calls anyone without a pre-scheduled call back date and time. If someone calls you saying that they are from Microsoft, that is never true. Also, Microsoft does not sell a security software such as Advance Security System. We value our customers and that's the reason why we have the OneCare Safety Scanner and the Microsoft Security Essentials absolutely for FREE! So when someone calls you asking you to buy this or that, do not believe them. It's a scam.Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit is coordinating with the Department of Justice and FBI to quickly resolve such reported incidents.Check this for a successful report: http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2010/05/28/congratulations-to-the-department-of-justice-fbi-and-microsofts-digital-crimes-unit.aspxI do hope this helps.
June 6th, 2010 12:12am

Hi AllI am in England and have just had the same phone call from someone in India. I listened while he gave the spiel about error messages and that my computer was infected. He wanted me to switch on and enter some codes. I told him that I didn't believe it was agenuine call from Microsoft and hung up. Then I found this forum.
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June 7th, 2010 6:09pm

I suggest that when you recieved this call try to contact your Phone company that you got phone line and report this abuse. Depend on your country also try to contact Department in charge of fraud and report it.Microsoft WILL NEVER call you unless you ask them to do so.
June 8th, 2010 2:09pm

i too had the same call yesterday 25/june following an error report. the guy was English though he passed me on to an Asian "Engineer" they claimed they were in Oxford and gave a number to call back for their "Correction Code" it was 01865 600 898 that is actually an Oxford UK number or at least it is the code for Oxford i didnt phone. it appears both my brother and his wife have had the same call. i am contacting virgin my phone supplierit is worrying how they got to me within an hour of the error....does Microsoft know about this...getting contact with them outside of their premium rate call centre seems impossible or am i thick?
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June 25th, 2010 4:45pm

I imagine they contacted you regarding the error because you have malware on your computer that alerts them and gets them started on the bogus scam.You need to start looking for the malware.
June 25th, 2010 4:55pm

One possibility is that they didn't aware of error and they just called you and they said you have error by chance and another possibility is that you have some sort of Malware or your PC is something that called botnet or zombie , which mean someone else control your PC too. Because Windows error reporting tools use encrypted channel to communicate and even if someone tap your wire they will see encrypted message and won't know what is it.Thank you for calling your phone company, also report it in U.K. fraud center. If number was in in Oxford, they might give a number in Oxford or the PC there is botnet too.Just in case run full scan with your Anti-Virus and if you don't have , try to run full system scan with:http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm
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June 26th, 2010 11:29am

Trick that's worked for me with nuisance callers is to sound like you're VERY interested, then drop the line suddenly. The seller then dials you back manually, and you may find that in his haste to save the sale he forgets to block CLI. Bingo, you've got the number he's using and can trace the company responsible.Might not work with foreign callcentres but worth a try.
June 26th, 2010 11:38am

I too received a phone call, just this morning. Similar phone connection issues too (magic jack ? )He said his name was Jason Stevens (213) 261-7441. He brought me tohttp://kenoxissystems.com/default.aspxThe Indian man went on about something called "Flashbot Virus" He claimed that Microsoft had not, and was not able to update their product anytime soon. And that he had the ability to correct the issues using his software. Stupid me... I let them do a remote access for a demonstration. He installed their product, did a scan, which popped up something like 58 issues, and then he hit me with it. A license key fee of $80 USD for one machine or $180 for multiple machines. I told him I would like to think about it a bit more before committing. I then said goodbye, and proceeded to delete the seemingly BS software he had used.
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June 26th, 2010 11:57pm

this is a scam. dont worry about the error report. Everyone gets them and it is purely a numbers game with them. I had the same phone call he didnt even say he worked for microsoft just windows which microsoft would never let happen. when i quizzed him which computer he was referring to (i have two laptops) he said the system with windows. I told him they both do. As i seemed to know more about his product than he did. he gave up and hung up. as long as you didnt do anything on his requests you will be ok. regards john
June 28th, 2010 8:26pm

Yes, one of common method that these scammer do is that they will tell you a fact. For example they might say go to computer and then go to your driver such as C: and then Windows and they tell you look for system32 . Must of user will install Windows on C: drive and Windows and System32 is in all PCs .Don't fall for them , these are fact about Windows and they want to fool you.As we said, Microsoft WILL NEVER call you, unless you ask them to do so.
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June 29th, 2010 6:18pm

yes, this seems to be a growing market! My wife was confronted with a fake AV alert last sunday, she closed the 'alert' but not before it took over my laptop, saying that every programme I opened was infected, and then directed my IE8 to various 'adult' sites and well as the 'solution' to my virus's site, this fake AV came from a 'skype' ad banner from webs.com (claimed to be a free web page provider) After several hours of running antimalware software and removing and re-instaling the virus had been zapped, so I too went to Microsoft (safety-live.com) and ran a clean up and check. It found a few things and cleaned them up. Lo and behold! An indian guy phone at 8pm saying his was from Microsoft and he knows that we have a problem on our laptop, (number started 0203 ?????????? International) and that we should switch our computer on! After a few questions from us, he seemed to lose interest. He then said he worked for FullPC.com or FirstPC.com and they were contracted to Microsoft. the line then failed!!!
June 30th, 2010 6:22pm

In case of Malware infection, do full scan with safety website and remove all threat and restart your PC. Always use Anti-Virus and keep it update and update Windows and make sure you have latest service pack (if any).If you couldn't get ride of threat get help from Microsoft Malware Removal Teamhttps://consumersecuritysupport.microsoft.com/default.aspx?productkey=pcsafetymalware&faq=1&mytask=diagnostics&st=1&wfxredirect=1
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June 30th, 2010 6:56pm

Hi I fell really stupid I fell for this scam and paid £145 thru paypal for 2 years support. they have since sent emails and a websitehttp://www.supportvirtual.com/ I will now do the security check as their technician did conduct some cleaning of my computer but I am conerned if they also copied key lists form my machine. I have since changed all finanical passwords. This scam needs to be stopped I am normally very cautious but they caught me off guard and "proved" I had serious problems with my new laptop. Is it possible they can still login to my machine?
July 23rd, 2010 7:07pm

On Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:07:04 +0000, stephencambridge wrote:Hi  I fell really stupid I fell for this scam and paid ?145 thru paypal for 2 years support. they have since sent emails and a websitehttp://www.supportvirtual.com/  I will now do the security check as their technician did conduct some cleaning of my computer but I am conerned if they also copied key lists form my machine. I have since changed all finanical  passwords. This scam needs to be stopped I am normally very cautious but they caught me off guard and "proved" I had serious problems with my new laptop. Is it possible they can still login to my machine?Sorry to hear you fell for it.Yes, it's possible. Almost the only thing you can do at this point tobe sure you are safe is to reinstall Windows cleanly and change allyour user-ids and passwords everywhere.Yes, it's a lot of work, but you don't have other good choices.Ken Blake
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July 23rd, 2010 10:54pm

Sorry to hear you fell for it.Yes, it's possible. Almost the only thing you can do at this point tobe sure you are safe is to reinstall Windows cleanly and change allyour user-ids and passwords everywhere.Yes, it's a lot of work, but you don't have other good choices.Ken BlakeEspecially you need to change the passwords for banking servicesAndrea Lattarulo
July 23rd, 2010 11:25pm

On Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:25:45 +0000, Andrea Lattarulo wrote:Sorry to hear you fell for it.Yes, it's possible. Almost the only thing you can do at this point tobe sure you are safe is to reinstall Windows cleanly and change allyour user-ids and passwords everywhere.Yes, it's a lot of work, but you don't have other good choices.Ken BlakeEspecially you need to change the passwords for banking servicesHe already did that (he said so in his original message), but Iwouldn't trust that to be good enough.Ken Blake
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July 24th, 2010 12:57am

Since these error reports are anonymous that reach the maintenance department of microsoft, anyone who is Microsoft Certified and is a bit knowledgeable can easily access your error reports. And its not bad to get the latest virus threats removed from your computer and have a safe computer just for 80$ because we never believe in hacking . So, its a request not to call anything a scam until and unless anyone has faced any loss of information or data or any harm to the computer ever. Otherwise, its very easy to write a hacking script.We always use the ethical remote desktop sharing software and not any hacking software.
July 24th, 2010 1:29am

Since these error reports are anonymous that reach the maintenance department of microsoft, anyone who is Microsoft Certified and is a bit knowledgeable can easily access your error reports. And its not bad to get the latest virus threats removed from your computer and have a safe computer just for 80$ because we never believe in hacking . So, its a request not to call anything a scam until and unless anyone has faced any loss of information or data or any harm to the computer ever. Otherwise, its very easy to write a hacking script.We always use the ethical remote desktop sharing software and not any hacking software." I am the same Jason Stevens you all were talking about"
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July 24th, 2010 1:30am

I received an identical call to this tonight, and foolishly followed some of the advice - despite the caller not knowing what version of Windows I was running, which he would surely know from error reports!Unfortunately I did allow some remote access - I'm currently searching for anything amiss, with the computer offline, and passwords are changed. Is there any way for them to regain remote access through this program without me knowing?One thing that completely invalidates these people is their trick for getting you to subscribe. Once you have granted access, they attempt to convince you that your computer is infected by opening 'Run' and running 'inf virus', then telling you you have X viruses or malware, where X is the number of objects in the C:\Windows\inf file.These files are used for software and driver installation, and are vital for Windows and other programs to run, so any computer is bound to have a large number of these. I just can't believe I trusted them.
August 25th, 2010 4:26pm

HiI had a call from India, a lady called Jasmine, stating I have a glitch in my windows sysytem. How do they get your telephone number? I have not sent in an error report. I told her to phone back tomorrow at 10 o'clock. She is not getting anywhere near my system. Do I need to report this?
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August 25th, 2010 7:49pm

Since these error reports are anonymous that reach the maintenance department of microsoft, anyone who is Microsoft Certified and is a bit knowledgeable can easily access your error reports. And its not bad to get the latest virus threats removed from your computer and have a safe computer just for 80$ because we never believe in hacking . So, its a request not to call anything a scam until and unless anyone has faced any loss of information or data or any harm to the computer ever. Otherwise, its very easy to write a hacking script.We always use the ethical remote desktop sharing software and not any hacking software." I am the same Jason Stevens you all were talking about"Well, 9 months on from my original post and I STILL get regular calls from these scammers, although the company name changes from time to time. As for "Jason Stevens" comments, this IS a scam, regardless of whether there's any hacking involved. The scam is that the callers are NOT Microsoft Certified and are NOT getting legitimate error report data. There's nothing they can do for you that you can't do yourself. Hang up on them, or have some sport first and then hang up.
August 25th, 2010 8:52pm

i also received a phone call on 08/27/10 it was this indian lady and she brought me tohttp://www.irssuppport.netand i also allowed them to do a remote access...however while they were demonstrating i stopped the remote access...im worried that my hardware is now affected and they can scan my credit card numbers and things like that...however today i just chatted with a microsoft technician and he did a remote access and scanned my computer..he told me i don't have any viruses and its good to go
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August 28th, 2010 10:29pm

Had a phone call earlier telling me my computor had a virus. The call was an indian called peter company name SUPPORT VITUAL phone number he gave was 02049783458.Told him to get lost and he had more chance of having tea with the Queen.
September 15th, 2010 12:40pm

I have been having similar problems. The first indian call centre had my name and phone number and said that we were being investigated for illegal downloading. This i can say is a load of rubbish, my provider confirmed this. They instructed my girlfriend to switch on the computer, but thankfully she didn't. Today i was called and the scam went along like above. I was told that my computer had a virus and that their systems had detected it, and that I was probably having problems with my computer (It is actually currently going through a fase of hanging? and on reboot asks for a windows disk to repair Vista as if it has a corrupted)Anyway's i pressed him for more information and he told me that he worked for a company called supportvirtual.com and that they operated from London, when i asked him for a correspondance address and telephone number he got funny and hung up on me. I managed to dig this up pretty quickly, the link contains alot of info about the company. ( http://www.whoisbucket.com/view/supportvirtual.com ) The gist of the scam was that he wanted me to go switch my computer on and i guess then wanted me to download soft ware and probably make my system very vulnerable. What is disturbing is that he had my Surname and telephone number, i didn't think to ask for my first name? I'm fairly dumbfounded as i've only been at this address for a while... maybe from a telephone directory??? I'm in IT, not stupid and run a Kaspersky fire wall behind a wireless router. Just scanned with AVG and i'm clean.They quite clearly advertise themselves as being apart of the Microsoft Certified Group . Check out their home page Microsoft guys. I did via public proxy just in case. Phone company said they couldn't help as they don't trace and or can provide information regarding withheld numbers on sales calls. found one above on whoisbucket though. Who do you report them too though????
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September 15th, 2010 3:57pm

I have been having similar problems. The first indian call centre had my name and phone number and said that we were being investigated for illegal downloading. This i can say is a load of rubbish, my provider confirmed this. They instructed my girlfriend to switch on the computer, but thankfully she didn't. Today i was called and the scam went along like above. I was told that my computer had a virus and that their systems had detected it, and that I was probably having problems with my computer (It is actually currently going through a fase of hanging? and on reboot asks for a windows disk to repair Vista as if it has a corrupted)Anyway's i pressed him for more information and he told me that he worked for a company called supportvirtual.com and that they operated from London, when i asked him for a correspondance address and telephone number he got funny and hung up on me. I managed to dig this up pretty quickly, the link contains alot of info about the company. ( http://www.whoisbucket.com/view/supportvirtual.com ) The gist of the scam was that he wanted me to go switch my computer on and i guess then wanted me to download soft ware and probably make my system very vulnerable. What is disturbing is that he had my Surname and telephone number, i didn't think to ask for my first name? I'm fairly dumbfounded as i've only been at this address for a while... maybe from a telephone directory??? I'm in IT, not stupid and run a Kaspersky fire wall behind a wireless router. Just scanned with AVG and i'm clean.They quite clearly advertise themselves as being apart of the Microsoft Certified Group ( that should have been Microsoft Partner Network, whatever that is) . Check out their home page Microsoft guys. I did via public proxy just in case. Phone company said they couldn't help as they don't trace and or can provide information regarding withheld numbers on sales calls. found one above on whoisbucket though. Who do you report them too though????
September 15th, 2010 3:57pm

I have been having similar problems. The first indian call centre had my name and phone number and said that we were being investigated for illegal downloading. This i can say is a load of rubbish, my provider confirmed this. They instructed my girlfriend to switch on the computer, but thankfully she didn't. Today i was called and the scam went along like above. I was told that my computer had a virus and that their systems had detected it, and that I was probably having problems with my computer (It is actually currently going through a fase of hanging? and on reboot asks for a windows disk to repair Vista as if it has a corrupted)Anyway's i pressed him for more information and he told me that he worked for a company called supportvirtual.com and that they operated from London, when i asked him for a correspondance address and telephone number he got funny and hung up on me. I managed to dig this up pretty quickly, the link contains alot of info about the company. ( http://www.whoisbucket.com/view/supportvirtual.com ) The gist of the scam was that he wanted me to go switch my computer on and i guess then wanted me to download soft ware and probably make my system very vulnerable. What is disturbing is that he had my Surname and telephone number, i didn't think to ask for my first name? I'm fairly dumbfounded as i've only been at this address for a while... maybe from a telephone directory??? I'm in IT, not stupid and run a Kaspersky fire wall behind a wireless router. Just scanned with AVG and i'm clean.They quite clearly advertise themselves as being apart of the Microsoft Certified Group ( that should have been Microsoft Partner Network, whatever that is) . Check out their home page Microsoft guys. I did via public proxy just in case. Phone company said they couldn't help as they don't trace and or can provide information regarding withheld numbers on sales calls. found one above on whoisbucket though. Who do you report them too though????
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September 15th, 2010 3:57pm

i dont know..i actually reported them to the microsoft company..but they didnt give a ____..they just told me not to fall for the scams thats all seriously..microsoft should take action and stop this bullshit
September 15th, 2010 5:41pm

It's like having to print "Caution: Contents may be HOT" on the cup of HOT COFFEE just ordered so someone cannot sue them when they spill it on themselves and claimed they were not warned their hot coffee was actually hot. Most people know that scammers may approach from many different angles. They might try to sell a car warranty for a 12 year old car, they might sell magazines that no one will ever get. They might convince someone to invest money in some pyramid scheme. However - it comes down to the individual and common sense. The real entity that the individual should be after and report is the liar/thief that calls them - although - finding them would be interesting. -- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP --How To Ask Questions The Smart Wayhttp://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
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September 15th, 2010 7:23pm

HiJust had a call from an Indian called Dave Watson who said he could identify my computer from it's unique CLSID and so I strung him along to see what he said. He came up with my machine "identity" of888DCA60-FC0A-11CF-8F0F-00C04FD7D062 and told me where to find it. He obviously neglected to say it would be the same on other computers!!He gave me a number of 01865 600898 and said he was from "The Windows Service Provider" and that the CLSID had been sent to him by Microsoft Error Reporting, which it obviously wasn't - Then he went on to say I had to renew my "Windows Protection Service" for £55.00 and only hung up when I said I would not pay!! He also wanted to take remote control using logmein, which I obviously declined to allow.This is such a an odious scam that preys on people who have little knowledge of computers and presented with the caller giving you a code that he tells you is unique would certainly trick most home users and that makes it a con.In the end he wasted 20 minutes of his time and that prevented him from takng advantage of some vulnerable sole.It did amuse me to act like a numpty and string him along, must have too much time on my hands?Richard
September 16th, 2010 2:23pm

"Richard - Hampshire" wrote in message news:Email removed for privacy...HiJust had a call from an Indian called Dave Watson who said he could identify my computer from it's unique CLSID and so I strung him along to see what he said. He came up with my machine "identity" of*888DCA60*-FC0A-11CF-8F0F-00C04FD7D062 and told me where to find it. He obviously neglected to say it would be the same on other computers!!He gave me a number of 01865 600898 and said he was from "The Windows Service Provider" and that the CLSID had been sent to him by Microsoft Error Reporting, which it obviously wasn't - Then he went on to say I had to renew my "Windows Protection Service" for £55.00 and only hung up when I said I would not pay!! He also wanted to take remote control using logmein, which I obviously declined to allow.This is such a an odious scam that preys on people who have little knowledge of computers and presented with the caller giving you a code that he tells you is unique would certainly trick most home users and that makes it a con.In the end he wasted 20 minutes of his time and that prevented him from takng advantage of some vulnerable sole.It did amuse me to act like a numpty and string him along, must have too much time on my hands?RichardYou have given your location as Hampshire. Upon the assumption that you in the UK, then 01865 is the dialling code for Oxford.I don't know whether 01865 600898 is a genuine telephone number. However, the call was obviously a scam. Your local Police force should have a specialist 'cyber crimes' department, and might be interested in tracing "the Indian called Dave Watson". Consequently, you should report this incident to the Police, .
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September 17th, 2010 10:11am

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