[ALERT] Fake Customer Service Scams - Comments Page 1

But, Bob—we ARE paying customers. We pay with the data we give them that they sell!

I do not use Facebook. I was on it for about a week and my confidence in them was negated by all of the problems that were and still are popping up all over. I wouldn't trust them in a thousand years. Mr. Zuckerberg must be proud of the mess that he has created. I hope he enjoys his billions of dollars that he now has from this misadventure.

I Have received countless calls from "Microsoft Support". Usually I just hang up immediately.
Once I decided to talk to one. He kept telling me that his records indicated that I had malware on my computer and needed a system update. I wasted about thirty minutes of his time by acting extremely dumb and walking through his attempts to get me to give him access to my computer (for this project, I used a Linux computer that was not connected to any network). Finally, he just got disgusted and hung up. He also kept trying to get me to give him personal information. I kept telling him that he started the call and should already have that information.

Wouldn't this reader need to change all their passwords and be on the lookout for other issues?

While this scammer was rooting around his/her devices whilst pretending to be scanning I dread to think of all the personal information they might also have gathered.

Also, they need to turn off the remote access they set up.

Or am I over cautious? Anyone?

I subscribe to Jim Browning, a scam-buster in England. It's always fun to watch scammers get busted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03fvkJ27eOs&t=24s

Thank you for the facebook recovery page. I have not had to use it yet.

The day I believe Microsoft has dug through it's records on million of users and wants to personally call me about a potential software problem is the same day I'll be eager to hear about extending the warranty on my 17 year old car.

Dear Bob,
Thanks for the account recovery info. I don't need it now, but it might come in handy in the future.
I am like ct. I have also received numerous calls from Microsoft "Support." At first, the calls scared me. But, then I asked a computer geek friend of mine about them. He answered, "Microsoft doesn't care if you have a computer virus." I quit worrying.

I am embarrassed to admit that a similar thing happened to me. I clicked on a site that locked my computer and I also foolishly paid $300 to a stranger to "fix" it. They didn't fix it. But another problem developed after our encounter - the man I spoke to called me incessantly for over 2 and a half years, always from a different number, but always the same man or his recording. He kept telling me that I need to renew or cancel his service and he said he needed access to my computer to cancel. Yeah, right! At first I thought he would make more charges to my credit card, but he didn't. I haven't heard from him recently, so maybe he finally gave up.

"This is Dell, or Microsoft, or [fill in the blank].. blah blah .. I usually just hang up, but once in awhile I decide to have a little fun. I tell them I'm expecting the office to call on this line, and can they please call back on my other phone. I then give them the number of the FBI in the vicinity with the same area code as mine. Only once in years did I get another call -- from a guy who said, "You think you're so smart, don't you?" I told him "I'm a hell of a lot smarter than you are."

In the case where they call me and they introduce themselves as "Microsoft Tech support, I just tell them that I have an Apple Mac. That usually shuts them up as they have nowhere to go after that.
Would it not be a good idea for all these big companies to publish a support phone number that just goes to a recording advising that they don't have a support number, and any number they find on the net will be a scam? That won't get you any support, but it will certainly protect people, and neutralize their money making activities.

In another twist, they e-mail me, somehow knowing that I have a Dell computer and post:
"

Dell Support Renewal Notice

Date: 04/22/2020

Dear Customer,

This is an automated renewal notice for your Dell annual maintenance service charge billed annually.

We would thank you on the completion of the 12 month maintenance plan.

Since your plan expired on April 22, we have auto renewed your plan and charged USD 299.99 against your account.

We understand that you are busy hence could not get through to you when we tried to contact you.

Dell Support renewal

Grand Total: USD 299.99

Order ID: DSSAR55648A

Should you have any questions or if you would like to cancel this subscription, please contact our billing department at: +1-224-278-1429

By subscribing you authorize us to charge the subscription amount of USD 299.99 charged automatically, that will be billed annually.

© 2020 Dell

24/7 customer service +1-224-278-1429 "
Which is totally phony ... I called and asked how to cancel and they wanted me to turn on my computer to fill out a form .. did not do .. when I asked how I was supposed to pay their billing .. They hung up. Go figure.

I've had about 10 calls from "Microsoft" informing me there were numerous problems on my computer. The kicker is every time it's a computer generated female voice and it's a very poor sounding one at that. Too funny!

A few years ago I got phone calls weekly saying they were calling from Microsoft about my account. I never answered the calls. Lately, I have received Emails from Microsoft about my account, which I again ignored. Also, received emails from 2 people saying the exact same thing, that they knew my one of my passwords and said “I've recorded your cam while you were watching p*rn on XX sites, also I've installed a keylogger on ur pc & collected all your contacts on social networks, messenger & emails. If you want me to erase the recording, pay me 1152$ on bitcoin address: 3QAcDipRs8MwEbLHJsadfhBHVYKN3kNJ7nPveuGi5
(search in Google for "how to buy bitcoin"), [case SenSitiVe so copy & paste it]. If I don't get the bitcoins, I will definately send your video to all of your contacts, don't reply to this email it's h@cked. EFFLie”. I ignored this filth also, BTW, I noticed the country of origin on both emails was Russia.

I used to get calls from "Microsoft Support" so I decided to get a boat horn. After a few calls and a good long blast for each of them, I haven't got a call since.
A few months ago I built a small corner shelf and painted it gold then I placed my horn on the shelf. It's been patiently waiting for the next scammer call ever since. :-)

I too have had calls from "MS" about my dodgy computer.
"What 's a Computer I ask ?" ( when I have the time)
Some of them are dumb enough to tell me what a computer is.
I say "that sounds really good, where can I get one?"
If you are lucky you can keep them busy, at least until the get the drift, insult you & disconnect the call.
It amuses me

When we had a landline I used to get the occasional phone call where the caller told me I had a computer problem that needed attention.
My usual response was to say that I am retired and that "I don't have a computer". It usually took just a few seconds for THEM to hang up. Now that we have a mobile and our number is no longer in the phone book, such calls have ceased.

I ordered PlayBeatz earbuds. They worked great with my phone but could not get them to function properly with my desktop which was my main reason fro ordering them. I searched the internet and could only find customer support on FaceBook. Went to my PayPal account and used the information there and finally had a phone number and email address. I told them I wanted to return themand they told me since I had worn them I could not return them but would give me a 20% discount. They also sent a link to their return policy. Sure enough, buried in all the fine print it said they would not accept returns for earbuds that had been worn. That's crazy. How are you going to know if you like something before you use it? I know this post is about scammer customer service but just wanted to mention there are genuine customer services that might as well be considered scammers.

I get the occasional call claiming to be from 'Vindows Technical support' telling me that they have detected a problem with my computer. "Oh dear," say I, "is that the Windows 10 laptop, the Windows 7 laptop, the Windows 7 desktop, the Desktop that dual boots into Windows 7 and Linux, or the Linux laptop?" They usually drop the call before I've finished. Sometimes I'll play along and go through all he supposed 'tests' they want to run - without touching anything, and giving them a lot of false 'readings' then tell them it looks like my computer is really screwed, so I'll have to buy a new one.
My wife has a different strategy - Claims to be impressed by their technological competence in detecting the problem, but then asks how they've managed it when she doesn't own a computer. (Technically, she's right - I 'own' them all....).
I have impressed on ALL my family who use a computer that NO manufacturers tech service can detect a problem without their own co-operation, so to drop the call and let me know - if necessary, I'll do a brief check on their machine just to make sure Remote Access is not active and their anti-malware is OK, then let them carry on with a reinforced warning.

I love the idea of messing with obvious scammers. However, it's probably not a good idea. All of these guys use auto-dialers to call phones, and those dialers keep records of the numbers that get answered and how long those calls were.

Guess what happens to those records? Of course - they get sold! Unfortunately, just talking to these scumbags gets you on the call-this-guy, we've-got-a-hot-one list.

Best advice: use nomorobo, screen all calls, use an answering machine (they never leave a message), or immediately hang up if no answer to 'hello.'