I'm a pretty intelligent person and thought I wouldn't fall for a scam but I did. Well I'm 99% sure, no make that 100%, that it was. Happily I twigged to the situation at the end of the phone call and immediately changed my banking password, rang my bank and had my card blocked. Oh, the shame.
Here's what happened. I was on my laptop, a morning routine, and had to use a different Internet browser because Firefox wasn't loading and hadn't been the previous night either. Firefox is a great browser for avoiding pop-ups and I love it. It also has an accessible Ad blocker feature you can turn on and off as you wish. Some sites won't load with an Ad blocker so this is handy. I now think that the scammers may have been jamming Firefox for that reason so I'd use another browser that was less secure
I opened Google Chrome instead. Almost immediately all these windows pop up with warnings. As soon as I went to close one, another would open until there were four. I couldn't close any of them. A Microsoft logo appeared on the bottom right of the screen with a toll free number to call for support. My earphone volume was up from the previous night and, although I wasn't wearing the earpiece, I could hear a voice alerting me to a problem. The warnings on the screen alerted to me having a computer virus and that Microsoft would block my Internet until I phoned them to fix the problem so my computer, or something I can't remember, would be damaged/corrupted or whatever.
I then did what any sensible person would do after pressing numerous control keys and control, alt, delete keys that did nothing, I turned the computer off at its power button. I decided it was a virus or scam and I might make it go away. I should state that I had previously had something like this happen a few years ago. I can't remember the details or where I obtained the phone number to attempt to fix the problem but it must have been from the site. When I phoned the man sounded reasonable and helpful but, after fifteen to twenty minutes of explaining to me what had happened and how he would fix it, as he could see my computer screen from his, he said it would cost me a sum of money. Again I forget how much and it wasn't a huge amount, but it was money. At this point I smelled a rat and hung up. Somehow I then managed to fix the problem myself. This experience made me very wary. The blighters always sound so professional and know their computer stuff.
Back to now. I let the laptop have a little rest and went off and did other things. I then turned it back on. I have a little routine in the morning on my computer and it goes like this: first Facebook as friends' news is often more interesting than other news and I just like to see what everyone is up to. Some of them also put up great jokes or memes that I enjoy. I also like to make the occasional comment. It's lovely to talk to friends near and far to stay connected. I've become rather fond of FB for its good points. I don't do other social network sites, just that one. Then its onto emails, then news from various outlets and then a quiz site that has a new set of questions every day. I very occasionally shop online and sometimes do banking but that's not my morning routine.
It took me years to be happy not having a print newspaper every morning and to feel my way around the Internet and find things that would replace it. Having done so I'm now better off as there's even more to interest me. Thus, when my routine was blocked yesterday I was not happy. I no longer work and need my routines throughout the rest of the day as boredom skulks around every corner. I also am not so financially flush that I can afford to call a computer expert if something goes wrong that can be fixed some other way, or free.
My laptop has had a nice little rest and is booted up. I try Firefox again just in case it works this time. It doesn't load, or rather, a blank white page with grey bars loads and stays that way. I close it. I open Chrome and, lo, the lousy error windows pop up again as well as the annoying voice from the earpieces. If I have a problem I normally Google who to phone to sort it out but I can't because I can't make the pop-ups disappear to get to anything else. The Microsoft logo leers at me temptingly on the bottom right of the screen. I'm a bit lost without my computer these days since my job finished last year and since Covid has so restricted life. I give in and phone the number.
I can't remember how the conversation started, if he said, 'Microsoft support' or just 'How can I help you' or something. He sounded reasonable and, although Indian, easy to understand. Unfortunately I wasn't my usual polite self. I simply said, "Are you a scam?" and probably a few other words to suggest I'd had someone attempt to try scamming me before who'd asked me for money. He sounded offended by this and when I told him that I would not be paying money he assured me they would not ask for any and that when I bought the computer I was entitled to free help from Microsoft from then on so, for a while I decided to trust him.
My thoughts now are that he and the next man I spoke to had previous experience on real help lines. Their computer knowledge was very good, their English not too accented and they had the patience of Job in talking me through the problem, first one and then the other in 'technical support'. They talked me through things on the computer that opened various internal windows in DOS and opened bars on the bottom menu that said 'setup.exe' and the like. They knew the ropes of how to make it look like they knew what they were doing.
I was told how to get rid of the error pop-up windows so I could access other functions on the computer. This, for your information, was to press the CTRL key and the letter 't' at the same time. Of course it may have worked only in this situation. CTRL and 'r' brought up another box and when I typed 'cdm' into that box it opened another screen that was a big blue screen. I can't remember what was on it, it looked official, but eventually, having filled in boxes, a screen came up in DOS programming language with a list of files, some headed 'local' and some headed 'foreign'. Apparently those under foreign were other accounts who had access to my computer and could send viruses. It was the second man I was talking to at this point and I was told to look to the right of the 'foreign' list for a number. I couldn't see one. He said he could see the number 11 and just now I realize, that this meant he could see my computer screen. That's a very important point even though I couldn't see the number eleven, he knew what else was on the screen. Anyway, he said I had eleven viruses.
I had been told at the start of the conversation by the first man that I would have to get rid of any viruses and go through all the apps I used on my laptop, from email, to Facebook, Internet and so on. I had asked if this would take long and he said no more than thirty minutes. To cut a long story short, once in the DOS screen and under the first files I was told what I needed to type to clean up my applications. This started with network and then to my email, which I typed in. After this the fellow told me to type in the name of my bank, but not to tell him the name. I asked if the shortened version of the name the bank used was okay. He said yes. I typed it in.
At some stage without filling out more application names, the screen ended up back at the normal Chrome screen and the man asked me to log into my bank account and this would secure it. I had to use my account identification and password. This didn't include my account numbers but I was now forty minutes into the call and began to smell a rat. I asked the man if he could see my screen. Stupid question and I didn't really believe him but for some idiot reason I logged in after which he said I could close it again. Do I have another bank account? Yes, I said, a small one I use to only pay one bill. I'd forgotten how to log in and he said if the other account was the main one, not to worry, but at this stage I was.
'What about Facebook and other accounts?' I asked. "Oh, you can do those later," he said. How I wondered? At this point he told me we were finished now. I then suggested again that he was a scammer and he seemed offended. I hung up and, after a few minutes of self flagellation, opened my bank account online and changed my password. I didn't panic but I really felt compromised.
I tried to ring my bank but got a recorded voice asking me which option I wanted and there were none to do with security. I rang another number and they wanted my phone banking log in identification. I'd forgotten the number. Now, I'm in a hurry at this point and why can't I just yell 'emergency' into the bloody phone and have a human answer? I finally remembered my password and got through and told them my shameful story and they told me I'd done well to change my password immediately. They then changed my card numbers but not before I'd asked Jan to run down the street and withdraw all the money from my everyday account. I knew the scammers couldn't withdraw from the credit card as it's in debit. They could have used its numbers to buy something, however, they don't have the expiry date or security numbers. I've changed the card but I'm still not happy. When my new credit card arrives I'll change my everyday account as well.
I really thought I was smarter than this. These guys are so smooth. One even wanted my blog address and said he liked to write too. I asked for his address but 'it's not published yet'. So many little, fishy clues that should have made me twig. I have no idea what he wants with my blog but I don't make money from it so that won't help him. Once I was online again I looked up Microsoft's real support number under which was a piece on how to recognize scams. The fourth example was exactly what happened to me, the pop-up error messages with the toll free helpline phone number.
You see why I'm ashamed to put this up but it's a warning. Even if you think you're a smart cookie like me with some computer knowledge, there are smooth operators out there with absolutely no conscience. When they rip off the people who have little money, that's vile. I wish I could report the toll number but it will probably change. Next time your computer is blocked, use your mobile for a real helpline number. I don't know why I didn't but I swear something happens in our brains when our computers play up. They're complicated things to fix when they don't work, the computers that is, and I think we feel out of our depth, but better out of our depth than out of money.
END
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