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Joined: May 2008
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OP
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Usually I don't answer unknown numbers, but for some reason I answered this one and a guy with an Indian accent sounding like he was one of many in a very large phone room tells me that he's with Microsoft and my computer has been infected and is sending massive amounts of information through their servers. I told him thank you I'll take care of it and hung up.
So beware if you get a call like this it is a known scam.
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Journeyman
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Indeed a scam, if you allow it to go any further the Indian sounding guy makes you install team viewer or similar software so he can access the innards of your computer, then installing various virus or malware.
Microsoft themselves will tell you there is no actual way that any outside observer can tell if your computer is sending messages, has a virus, is part of a botnet, etc.
Also they insist that they will never ring up any Windows user unless that is by a prearranged transaction with them.
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Just repeat everything they say back to them word for word in the form of a question.....
Or....
Say to the person.... "Can you hold on a minute"..... then yell like you're taking to someone else in a different room.... "Stop trying to pull that knife out.... it'll only hurt worse and you'll get blood all over the place"... then return to the caller... who will probably have hung up by this point.
Or.....
Ask them if you can share your favorite bible verse with them.....
or.....
hang up
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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the giveaway was that Micro$oft would care enough to call you! 
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This scam has been around for a long time.
I got them to stop calling me by telling them that I was the head of the IT department of my company. My phone heard a click.....they hung up! They must have been rookies!
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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eddie1261
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eddie1261
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Did the caller actually SAY "Microsoft"? When that scam first started they were calling saying they were from "Windows Support" and they saw you had a lot of virus infected files and for $79.95 the would remote in and clean them. Fortunately I spent my whole working life in IT and knew it was bogus from the get go. I had 2 of my clients fall for it because they jumped before they talked to me.
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A year or so, while on a gig, I overheard someone telling another that she got a call from Microsoft telling her that she had a virus in her computer and she had to pay to get it removed. I interrupted and told her it was a scam, but she didn't believe me. So I can assume she gave her credit card number and access to her computer to some thief. It's sad that there are people who prey on others like that. All we can do is stay aware, keep on our guard, and suspect anything unsolicited as possibly being someone out to get you.
I don't even do surveys on the phone. If I didn't ask them to call, I politely tell them I have a strict unsolicited call policy, ask them to take me off their list, and hang up.
Even if someone saying they are from my bank calling, I treat it like phishing spam, hang up, and dial my bank directly.
Be careful.
Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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One creative individual asked such a caller to please call him on his other line, then gave him the national number for the FBI.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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As Notes suggested, I too used to ask for a call back number if they said it was my bank. Recently, it actuall WAS my bank.
The caller first identified himself and my bank name, then said that my Online Banking had been compromised. I of course assumed it was a scam. When I asked for a number to call him back, he said to call the toll free number on the back of my credit card.
So I did.
After much "passing the buck" on their end, I finally got to the department he had called from, and sure enough it was legitimate, and we got it straightened out.
Along the way, I learned something I'd like to pass on.
When I talked to the "security department" of the bank, the first think they asked me was, if I had given the caller any information. I replied "no".
The second thing he asked was, do you have your Online Banking sign-in page set up as one of your favorites? I replied "yes". He told me to take it off of favorites immediately, and always use the (bankname).com to get to their site, then navigate to the sign-in screen.
Could just be my bank, but I'm warning people that they may want to take the same step and delete it from their favoites list.
LLOYD S
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Expert
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Only have urls in your favorites that are not a part of your communication coordinates. Bank information is the same as your address or your telephone number. It is personal and it can be expensive if someone messes with it. I don't have anything where money is involved in my favorites. I never use given links when money could be involved, except those sent to me to complete a registration. Sometimes my antivirus software should watch over me. :-) In all important cases I always enter the url myself, most times even a url that needs me to click myself through the site. Like for banking I don't go to the online.bank.com or banking.institute.com. I use www.bank.com or www.institute.com and check the fed back url for correct spelling.
Desktop; i7-2600k, 8 GB mem., Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
Laptop: i5-2410M, 4 GB mem, Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
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A security expert recently stated "If you have a a cell phone; credit card; bank account; social media account; gas card; military ID; etc, your privacy is already compromised!
Two experts appeared on TED. I'll find the link and post it here.
Scary!
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The problem ist that privacy is compromised, but that other people try to access my assets without my permisson...
I know you have a facebook account, Don. But let's suppose you haven't. Facebook would have a lot of information about you, because other people mention you. They know your likes and dislikes, they assume some by who you know, sometimes wrong but mostly awfully close to right. Privacy, as I knew it many moons ago, is long gone. (I sometimes taint their statistics by liking odd and not predictable stuff.)
But I still fight that other people have access to my accounts, whereever they are.
I hope your day is a sunny as mine.
Guido
Desktop; i7-2600k, 8 GB mem., Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
Laptop: i5-2410M, 4 GB mem, Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
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Facebook, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and dozens of others collect your data and put it up for sale. If it's free, you aren't the customer, you are the product.
Take those quizzes on Facebook or other on-line sites? You know the kind, what kind of dog breed are you, what city should you live in, what's your blues name, and so on. Your answers go into your dossier.
What sites do you click on? The trackers know and that info goes into your file.
Filled in your Facebook or other profile? They know your birth date, where you were born, where you went to school, your likes, your dislikes and so on.
Anybody can buy that information.
I use Etymotic Music Pro active ear filters. They use a hearing aid battery to power them.
I did a google search for hearing aid batteries to find out where I could get them for less money (found cases on Amazon that go for about .22 per battery).
For months I got online ads and SPAM for hearing aids, loud alarm clocks, deaf/hard of hearing charities, flashing lights hooked to the doorbell, TV ears, and other products for hearing impaired people. It was a flood. I don't use google anymore but instead Duck Duck Go, Start Page or IXQuick. I also installed anti-tracking and other privacy add-ons.
So after I got sick of the deaf products, I decided that I must search for other things to dilute the flood. What should I pick? Bikinis? (I like looking at pretty women but wouldn't want my wife getting hunks in her in-box so I nixed that one - do unto others - especially the love of my life). I decided on Guitars, Saxophones, Microphones, music books, and the guitars and recording gear went well, but the saxophones didn't.
Everything you do on-line is for sale. So the Phisher can call you on the phone, he/she knows your name, knows your address, knows your mother's maiden name, knows where you went to high school, knows what kind of computer you are using, and can convince you that you have a virus on your computer that gave him/her that information and if you just give him your credit card number, for a reasonable fee he/she can get that virus off of your computer. Or he/she can say he/she is from the IRS and you need to wire transfer your back taxes or the FBI will be at your door tomorrow.
If it's unsolicited, it's possibly a scam. We live in that kind of age -- sadly.
Insights and incites by Notes
Last edited by Notes Norton; 06/12/15 05:03 AM.
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Notes, I chuckled at your bikini statement. I have the most secure computer in our house. Note other computers in the house have the same anti-stuff on them but I know mine is always up to date, thus all purchasing goes though my computer.
That would not be so bad if I only ordered things for me but I also order things for my wife, my wife's shut-in friend, and my daughter. You should see the number of spam emails for female panties, swimsuits, bras, anti-wrinkle cream, etc that I get! I'm sure a number of places think that I am one hell of a cross dresser!
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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In trying to find that Internet Security link that I mentioned yesterday, I became mesmerized by experts on TED on YouTube.
In short: There is no such thing as privacy today.
If you want to brought up to speed, search "internet security" on YT. Be prepared for a shocking scare.
I wrote, about a year ago, about cyber thieves that can scan your credit cards at a distance without ever touching you, your cards, or your wallet.
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eddie1261
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eddie1261
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Yeah Notes, your probably want to stay away from the Viagra ads as well....
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