Have you ever been the victim of a phone scam?

1. 83

   Deborah-Dianeposted 11 years ago

   Have you ever been the victim of a phone scam?
   
   I received a call the other day from someone who tried to tell me they were from Microsoft, and my computer had a virus.  They wanted me to log on to their site so they could "help" me.  I have a friend who lost $4000 when she received a phone call from a teenager pretending to be a grandchild who had been in a car accident.  What kind of phone calls have you had from scammers?

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2. 75

   FreezeFrame34posted 11 years ago

   I haven't been scammed because I don't answer my phone for any number I don't know. I let them leave a message. Most scammers won't. If the number doesn't leave a message, then I feel that it wasn't that important anyways.
   
   I have friends' whose email accounts got hacked. I got an email from one trying to sell Canadian pills and the other wanted me to wire them money (said they were stuck oversees with no money- wanted $250). I might have been concerned about the last one since the scammer said they were robbed at gun point, but I saw them the night before and knew there was no way they were traveling anywhere, let alone oversees.  I have received scams in the mail too- for only $12, I could get a settlement for $280, 000- some things are just too good to be true!
   
   I feel badly for anyone who has been scammed, especially caring individuals that are just trying to help. I hate when people are taken advantage of.

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   1. 83

      Deborah-Dianeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      These email scams are horrible, too!  I have had a number of dishonest phonecalls, especially since I moved to an over-55 community, and I feel like they are trying to focus on senior citizens.  However, maybe people of all ages are targeted!

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   2. 60

      Omniscient Nomadposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Deborah,
      
      It's funny that I come across your question, because I received the same phone call this morning. It all started from an email that I thought was from Microsoft offering beta testing download for their new office suite.

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3. 60

   Omniscient Nomadposted 11 years ago

   Hi Deborah,
   
   It's funny that I come across your question here, because I received a phone call this morning like the one you received. It started from an email that I thought was from Microsoft, requesting that I be a beta tester for their new office suite. I did download the file, but my gut kept me from running it. The guy on the phone had an Indian (the country India) dialect, and the tone, sense of urgency,  and inflection in his voice sent red flags to my brain that something wasn't quite right. He kept insisting that I log onto my computer so that I could delete a file called "cfrss.exe", if I'm not mistaken. I shot him a brush off saying that I was busy at the time, but this guy was persistent. I finally had to hang up on him since he failed to understand that I was busy at the moment.
   Anyway, I ran a search on my computer for this "Nigerian Hackers File", but found none. I'm guessing that it was never there in the first place. I never actually completed the download -remember. If I had to guess, these would be hackers use the email to redirect you to a squeeze page so you can enter your basic contact information. After a few days have passed, they call you personally so that you can help them hack your computer.
   We have to be vigilant. Computer crimes and identity theft are on the rise.
   
   Thanks for raising this question. Have a good one.
   
   Albert- Omniscient Nomad

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   1. 83

      Deborah-Dianeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Since I asked this question, I have had several friends receive calls that were supposed to be Microsoft's Help Desk offering to help them save their computers from a virus.  One elderly man said he listened, then told them he didn't own a computer!

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4. 87

   denise.w.andersonposted 11 years ago

   We also had the phone call from Microsoft. Read about it in my hub on the subject.

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   1. 83

      Deborah-Dianeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This company that is pretending to be Microsoft needs to be shut down.  I'm glad you wrote a Hub about it.  I also wrote a blog post about it.  Hilariously, an elderly man I know also got the call, and he doesn't even own a computer!

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