Your Computer is sending

messages to us " said the gentleman with an Asian accent about 4 mins ago

"Oh ? " said I

" Your computer is sending us messages telling us of problems " said he

" Really ? " said I

" Yes ," said he " Your windows computer has problems "

"My computer does not have problems " I said

" Madam it does " he said

" I don't have a Windows computer " said I

And the silly guy didn't give up at that point

" Madam your PC has problems - I can tell it has - it's sending us messages "

" I told you I don't have a Windows computer "

" What do you use ? "

"Snow Leopard "

Silence and then the line went dead.

They really do not give up do they

Telephone number removed. Not a good idea.

John - they intend to panic folk - they deserve to have their phone number publicised - they aren't there to help you they want to put spyware on your computer so they can take control and land you with all sorts of problems .

These folk are NOT genuine computer assistance/techie folk .

Telling me that my PC was sending them messages - come off it - my PC has not been online for 2 months and it's clean as a whistle .

The BIG mistake is that he didn't ask me if I was using my computer at that point .

I understand all of that, but we're not to be seen as a rallying point that engineered some mass retaliation. That's misuse of the telephone system and it's an offence. Posting the number could result in grief on a major scale that would reflect badly on PU.

We should always stay on the right side of things ourselves - leave others to misbehave.

I had them on the phone as well. When he told me that my computer was sending them messages and that it came back to 'Microsoft' that I had a problem, I told him that he had the wrong number and that he came through to the local control room and that I would transfer him to someone in the IT department.
As soon as I placed him on silent he hung up.
Never heard from them again.
Guess my phone number has a huge mark next to it to make sure they avoid it at all cost.

They tried that stunt on my Gran a while ago. Thing is, she had just bought a new laptop but was very proud of the fact that it was Windows 7. Telling her that it was running XP didn't exactly support their story...

I will not give personal details to anyone over the phone, regardless of who they claim to be. Sales callers get the full icy polite treatment with much mention of the TPS (worth signing up for, it reduced nuisance calls by a fairly staggering margin here).

Of course if they get bored you may find you get lots of calls,
Used to know someone who worked in a call center, any abusive responses or being left waiting usually got some retaliation.
far better just to say no and hang up.

Davex.

I usually tell them I'm on my way out and ask them to call me back on my other line later. Then give them a number of somebody I do not like.
for example, those people that show up at your door offering you a religious magazine.....keep thier number... it come in handy later.

Matt - you are lucky - TPS hasn't helped me for a loooong time and I've checked I'm still registered.

Last time I had one of these I managed to keep them chatting for 20 mins

This guy was just too complacent - didn't ask if my computer was online , and didn't check exactly what I was using till he was too far on in his script.

This is the first time I've managed to get a phone number - they are usually withheld .

I do worry about folk who are not really techie [ I'm one of them but I can see through a caper like this ] - they are the ones who are terribly at risk when they get a call like this.

The proper process is to complain to the appropriate authority.

www.adviceguide.org.uk is the CAB advice website. Somewhere in there will be a section about calls like this and what to do.

What annoys me about phone scams:

BT are allowing these people access to their network. In the case of premium rate line scams they are collecting the money for the scammers and claiming they can do nothing about this. They can.

Start by banning "withheld numbers" or allowing subscribers to refuse calls from them at no extra charge. No legitimate organisation has any reason for withholding numbers. Then start banning nuisance numbers and handing details held on them to Trading Standards. The DVLA are allowed to give your details to private car park operators so I don't see much difference. If they're passing money to these vermin they've got addresses and names to tell them where to send it to.

Spamming email addresses can be blocked, why not phone numbers?

Here we have a bel-me niet register, if you are registered and a company still calls you they are fined - a lot. They have, by law to tell you about the register and give you the opportunity to refuse their call.

What I used to do when people tried to flog me stuff over the phone was either say immediately no thanks and hang up, or if I was bored let them do their entire spiel, giving fictitious answers as required, and then saying no thanks.

Never had the computer scam call.

With regard to number withheld - I know several private individuals who withhold their numbers for various reasons. It is a necessary evil for some people. Companies however should not be able to do so.

This one I've had is the first one where they have not withheld the number - I'm fed up with these sort of calls . They normally get absolutely nothing from me - but I do try and waste their time if I can

I think the ones that irritate me the most are the number withheld ones that , when you do answer , give you the great news after a second or two waiting , of " Congratulations ! You " and at that point my phone goes down.

GRRRRH

I haven't had a "your computer is sending us messages" yet.

Had a spate of Asian accented people trying on some weird market research nonsense for a while.

Depending on mood I either not answer the phone, abuse them or play along putting on silly accents and saying surreal things to confuse them.

We have the Telephone Preference Service which is very effective and free but only works for calls originating in UK.

I have had a few of the "Your pc is not working correctly" and I ask them how it feels to be a criminal and a fraudster. Seems to upset the poor dears.