Bullguard Free Antivirus Forum

The original version of this page can be found at : http://forum.bullguard.com/forum/5/Scam-Calls_92425.html

Posted By : Robert Mateescu - 9/29/2011 8:44 PM

Hi there,

Lately we had a lot of users which are called regarding malfunctioning Windows or virus infections by "Microsoft" or different well known companies.

This kind of practices are usually fraudulent and I strongly recommend you do not provide any personal information or remote access to your computer, if requested. In case any other company/service contacts you regarding possible infections on your computer, please reply that your protection is currently enabled via your current AV solution, and they will provide support if needed.

It is impossible for a third party software or company to report the security status of your computer as long as you did not install or used any software from their side or allowed them connections to your computer. Any information retrieved from your computer without your consent or approval is considered an illegal operation.

If you are a BullGuard user, remember that our Support Department is available 24/7 and is free of charge.

Concerning the issue, if you already ran a scan with BullGuard and the application reported that your computer is clean, there is nothing to worry about. Moreover, if you notice any signs of infections or abnormal behaviour of your machine, please contact us directly.

Best wishes!

Robert Mateescu

Support Technician EN
support@bullguard.com
www.bullguard.com

Post Edited (Robert Mateescu) : 29-09-2011 17:47:59 GMT

Posted By : nowayyoucanfoolme - 10/14/2011 2:34 PM

OMG! i did get a call like this. and i'm afraid i fell for it. the guy told me my pc's gonna crash if i dont let him fix it. so i agreed and he took over. it was even funny looking at the cursor moving by itself. but everything's fine now. should i worry?

Posted By : nowayyoucanfoolme - 10/14/2011 2:36 PM

they guy was very polite and professional. but he sounded very concerned too which made me all the more worried. i checked on my accounts, there's nothing unusual. i guess, if he wanted money, well he got it.

Posted By : nowayyoucanfoolme - 10/14/2011 2:37 PM

and by the way. i checked at http://www.callercenter.com, the phone number's not reported there... so am i safe? what do i do now? can you help?

Posted By : Dickens - 10/14/2011 4:37 PM

You should have asked yourself two questions:

Q. How did the caller get your telephone number? A. By trying random numbers until he reached someone who fell for the scam.

Q. How did the caller know your computer was infected with viruses? A. He did not.

An additional danger with these scams is that the criminal may now have acces to your credit/debit card. If you did pass your card or any other personal financial details to this person I would suggest you seek urgent advice from your card supplier and/or bank.

I don't want to be a scaremonger, but by responding to this scam you may have exposed yourself to future scams so you need to take precautions right away.

The people who operate these scams will always sound concerned, polite and professional but they are nasty criminals who prey on people's lack of knowledge for just one thing - to make money!

I hope it all works out OK for you.

Post Edited (Dickens) : 14-10-2011 15:48:53 GMT

Posted By : Andreea-Luciana Ostache - 11/17/2011 11:01 AM

Some of our users reported receiving SMS messages with attempted scam.

Regardless of how serious the message sounds (it is of course written in such a way that it will compel you to agree) simply no real IT company will ever call/e-mail/SMS you about your computer security.

Just ignore such attempts.

Andreea-Luciana Ostache
Senior Support Technician EN
support@bullguard.com
www.bullguard.com

Download the Free Trial version of BullGuard Internet Security 12

You have a BullGuard related problem? Post your question on these forums, contact Support or contact me on Twitter!

Posted By : lion - 1/2/2012 9:29 PM

i got a call today from "microsoft" saying my computor was having issues with speeds and may be caused by viruses and that he wanted to take a look he told me to dissonnect the internet and type in a command in the console over the phone of course i knew it was a scam and baiscally told him to "put bad word here" then hung up

diled 1471 to see the number who called it was 4444211 i diled it and it was the emergency switch board for the fire ambulance and police so they used a computor generated number with the area code

i called the police and reported it to them immadietly and they are looking into it

but thanks to a post i saw on here i knew in advance before it happened about the scam calls

Posted By : Dickens - 1/19/2012 12:21 PM

lion: You did the right thing by hanging up on the scam caller so you are OK.

wowgold4sale: You are advertising your services - NOT allowed on this Forum. Your posts have been reported to the Moderators and deleted..

Post Edited (Dickens) : 19-01-2012 13:25:01 GMT

Posted By : lion - 1/21/2012 3:25 AM

Dickens said...
lion: You did the right thing by hanging up on the scam caller so you are OK.

wowgold4sale: You are advertising your services - NOT allowed on this Forum. Your posts have been reported to the Moderators and deleted..

^pfft some people never learn or get the idea that we are not zombies that fall for the most basic stuff who wants gold from a "legit seller" pfft

Posted By : kuttus - 2/14/2012 10:40 PM

The scam always starts the same way: the phone rings at someone’s home, and the caller – asks for the householder, quoting their name and address before saying “I’m calling for Microsoft. We’ve had a report from your internet service provider of serious virus problems from your computer.”

This call is 100% Fake one.

What to do if you are a victim of a Computer based Telephone Scam

If you are from the UK you can report the scam here Action Fraud (http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/)

If you are from the USA you can report the scam here Federal Trade Commission (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/telemarketing/tel19.shtm)

Other Countries should have similar support sites that they could contact.

Post Edited (Tavi) : 18-02-2012 11:30:03 GMT

Posted By : Andreea-Luciana Ostache - 4/2/2013 4:07 PM

Here is what Microsoft has to say on the matter: www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx

Need Support? Write to:

| Forum Help Manual

Download free trial version of Bullguard Internet Security