Attempted scam!

[ParadigmShifter]

Someone just rang me up trying to scam me

Apparently he was going to attempt to install remote access on my PC and then try and get me to pay £160.

As soon as I googled the website he wanted me to go to I came up with this page from moneysavingexpert.com

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=1424731

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

And who knows what other crap they'd try to create an actual problem and get you to pay even more?

 

[Furiey]

A friend of my father's had one of these calls. He didn't fall for it but they must get enough to make it worth their while.

 

[Cutlass]

Any phone call I get, no matter who they claim to represent, I tell them to mail me something, I do not do business over the phone.

 

[illram]

Wow you guys actually pick up the phone when randoms call? I don't answer my personal phone if I don't recognize the number.

 

[Narnia]

Wow you guys actually pick up the phone when randoms call? I don't answer my personal phone if I don't recognize the number.

Not everyone has caller ID

 

[illram]

Not everyone has caller ID

People still use landlines?

 

[Cutlass]

People still use landlines?

I use both. My landline does not have caller ID. My cell phone occasionally gets business calls from someone who got my number from someone else. So I do have to answer the damned phone

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Some people have landlines still because they have dsl. I know this is why we do.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

My mom was very nearly scammed a few minutes ago.

Some random lady with an accent called. Unknown Number. My mom got me to come in and try to follow her directions... She kept claiming the computer was generating spam emails... er, no. I monitor the network. She tried to get us to go to this site with a suspicious url. I refused to do that and typed in huge letters in WordPad "HANG UP. THIS IS A SCAM.". My mom wouldnt hang up and I finally grabbed the phone out of her hands and turned it off and told her off. There was a bit of a fight. But Im ok.

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Sounds exactly like what happened to me.

EDIT: I googled the URL and the first link was the one I posted in the OP, about it being a scam.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Well I actually dont have the full URL as I couldnt make out the second part. Lol.

I told mom next time she calls to say "I have a Mac."

 

[Zelig]

Some people have landlines still because they have dsl. I know this is why we do.

Dry loop is cheaper than paying for a phone line you don't use.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

OK now my mom's making up B.S. about how she knew all along and that she was just gonna contact the police once she got the phone number... Yeah, sure.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Dry loop is cheaper than paying for a phone line you don't use.

Depends. My parents call long distance a lot (to my grandparents, who do not have access to VOIP) so having a landline is cheaper than dry loop + cell phone service, but only just.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Whats a dry loop? I googled it and got the wikipedia article I dont understand.

 

[Turner]

It basically means that you have DSL without a landline telephone.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

To have DSL you need to have a telephone wire connected to your house as the DSL signal goes over the telephone line (and is filtered out in your house). Normally, you need to have an actual phone service. A dry loop is essentially just the wiring without actual phone service. So if you have a dry loop, you may be able to hook up your phones, but they wont work as they only carry the dsl signal.

 

[Mec AntiKythera]

Apparently he was going to attempt to install remote access on my PC and then try and get me to pay £160.

You would have to pay him to let him have remote access to your computer? That's one of the craziest scams I've ever heard described. Does he offer Bank Management services, for a low monthly fee he manages your transactions for you?

 

[Genocidicbunny]

No he takes over your computer until you pony up 200$