We’ve written on multiple occasions about the importance of ignoring scammers who ring claiming to be from Microsoft support and then try and con people into installing malware onto their machines and paying for fake “support”. That tactic remains common, but there’s a new local twist: some of the scammers are now claiming to be from Telstra or BigPond.
The federal SCAMwatch site notes the change, which isn’t at all surprising: just as Windows is the most common operating system, Telstra is the most common ISP. While the scammers will ring plenty of people who use a different ISP, they’ll also hit a lot of potentially vulnerable customers.
I realise most Lifehacker readers are savvy enough to recognise these scams, and potentially to amuse themselves by asking difficult questions. However, our less-informed friends and relatives might fall for it. Remind anyone who is likely to ring you for tech support that they will never get a call from Microsoft or Telstra or anyone offering to help them fix a problem on their PC. If that happens, they should hang up, after screaming abuse or loudly blowing a whistle down the phone if that makes them feel better.
Bryden
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 3:38 PMI’ve had at least 40 of these phone calls over the last 2 weeks. The obvious thing when they call is a long pause and then someone with a very strong Indian accent, almost unintelligible comes on and refuses to listen to you. If my 2 year old son is home, I just say “Here’s someone more qualified to talk to you” and hand it to him. I don’t get why when I clearly get that it’s a scam that they keep calling.
Andreas Koepke
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 6:41 PMThe long pause is a dead give-away.
I don’t receive international phone calls at home, so when I answer the phone I expect a reply or response right away. If I don’t get one I hang up.
Jack Cola
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 12:06 PMThere’s only one thing to do at that is this http://www.jackcola.org/blog/87-how-to-stop-telemarketers-from-calling-you
EckyThump
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 3:48 PMI don’t know if it’s because they’re hooking more suckers in Toowoomba because of the large retiree population, but these assholes just won’t quit! As with ‘Bryden’ we’ve had dozens of these calls. I’ve tried everything from humouring them until they realize I’m wasting their time, asking them for their number so I can call them back, too outright abuse! They just keep calling!! #[
TSH
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 3:55 PMI feel left out. I’ve never had one of these calls.
Then again, I don’t have a landline and I use a mobile Internet connection.
Danielle
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 4:13 PMI get these calls on a daily basis, and have done for a long time. I’ve never had a call from anyone claiming to be from Microsoft though. It’s always Telstra.
Evan
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 4:21 PMDo what I do. Play along far enough to get the logmein ID code, then from that point whenever they ask you something just respond, “I like cheese.” When they finally hang up, report them to logmein with the ID number.
Last time I did that I got put onto the manager, then put back to the first person who firmly rebuked me for not taking them seriously.
The saddest thing was it ended up being the most fun I had that week, and I’m kinda hoping they’ll call again in this new spate…
Hugh
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 4:23 PMI never used my home phone much, so I solved this problem by putting a fax machine on my landline. I suspect that no-one is calling from overseas and talking to that.
Once I start getting junk faxes offering some scam, then I’ll have to rethink I guess.
Gonzi
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 4:31 PMlol i actually work for Telstra Plus, and we do call some customers offering free consultations and support :P just ask them for a 6 digit “C” or “D” number which would be their staff number, if they can provide you it, then they’re genuine
eg D123456
Angus Kidman
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 4:49 PMBeing provided with a staff number proves nothing — anyone can rattle off a number. In the event this does happen, I’d be asking for a number to call back on, and double-checking it was a genuine Telstra number.
On the whole, hanging up is easier and (given the prevalence of this scam) more useful advice.
Deckard
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 5:11 PMA real Telstra consultant would also be able to provide you with details about your service – username, usage plan, etc. Plus about five minutes of conversation should be all it takes to tell a scammer from an actual agent – they don’t try very hard to pretend.
Tom125
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 8:51 AMI’m pretty sure I was rung by a real Telstra consultant a few months ago trying to get me to move to a different plan. After introducing himself he asked for my date of birth to “confirm my identity” which I refused to give. I told him he rang me so it was up to him to prove his identity. The only information he could give was my account number but that didn’t help as I didn’t have a phone bill lying around. After a few minutes of stale mate I hung up. My feeling is that it was genuine but you never know…
smurfydog
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 3:34 PM“Plus about five minutes of conversation should be all it takes to tell a scammer from an actual agent – they don’t try very hard to pretend.”
You give them 5 minutes to determine if they’re legit?
I hang up way before that!
EckyThump
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 7:53 AMAfter the amount of calls we’ve had Angus, I’m more inclined to vent on them with a flurry of expletives! They have generally hung up by the time I’m finished! Oh, but don’t worry, I do make sure it’s them before letting loose…! #]
Chris Brown
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 5:02 PMI got a call from a guy, strung him on for a good half hour..Conversation went something like this (truncated for brevity):
Me: “What’s your ABN?”
Him: “We don’t have one as we’re based in the UK” (?)
Me: “Oh ok.. can I have a mailing address then?”
Him: “ohh ok our offices are at xx Coventry St, Southbank Vic”
Me: *checks Bing Maps* “that address doesn’t exist, I work right near where that would be”
Him: “err umm umm check our website, the windows support dot com”
Me: “That doesn’t work, it times out”
Him: “Support with three P’s, yes?”
Me: “Errr…That’s not how you spell support”
Him: (quick as a flash) “You know when you try to get a Bigpond or Optusnet address, sometimes you cannot get the name that you want?”
Me: “yes…”
Him: “well that’s what happened here. We use three P’s”
Me: “So you’re from where?”
Him: “Windows Support”
Me: “Oh as in Microsoft Windows?”
Him: “No, just Windows”
Me: “Oh but you’re affiliated with Microsoft?”
Him: “No, we’re a separate company”
Me: “So why are you calling me?”
Him: “We detected a virus on your network”
Me: “How’d you do that?”
Him: “We detected it on our systems”
Me: “Ohhh are you working with the cyber police? Did you backtrace my IP?”
Him: *click*
Me: *calls back on caller ID*
Him: “err…hello?”
Me: “Hi, I just got disconnected”
Him: “Yes sir, our technical department have gone home. You will need to call back in the morning or go visit our offices at xx Coventry St”
Me: *click*..Dinner time.
Sir Zig
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 8:36 PMIf ever in doubt, simply hang-up. Phone Telstra/Bigpond support directly and go from there, asking whether they have contacted you. Register your concerns and ask that they trace your calls for a period of time in order to track down these serial pests.
Stephen
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 8:38 PMGot a whistle next to the phone. I figure I should talk quietly for a little while, make sure they’re “all ears” before using it.
Zacc
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 9:07 PMLOL.
This guy called me, and I told him that he was going to steal my money, and I basically followed on, then stuffed with them on LogmeIn by moving my mouse, and kept deleting the Systemcare pro 2 off my desktop so they’d have to send it over and over.
Eventually I told them to f*** off.
toxi
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 10:37 PMI have got about 60 of these calls since I got my landline connected 3 months ago.
Most sound like the same guy with an indian accent, some are a women with an indian accent, they always claim to be from microsoft support or optus.
Most times I am amused because its so obvious its a scam you’d have to be so stupid to fall for it but i am starting to get sick of it.
PeterB
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 9:16 AMI feel left out! I’ve got an unlisted number so I don’t get to have this kind of fun. Must get it changed …
Perfiasc
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 11:34 AMTHIS would explain why I never get these calls. Aw, man, I work in network infrastructure development, I’d LOOOOOVE to take a call like this.
Sash
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 10:30 AMRegister here guys and if you get a call warn them that you have registered on the donotcall register and you will report them.
https://www.donotcall.gov.au/
Greg
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 3:44 PMIf you honestly think this will make any difference, you are very much mistaken.
They’re already breaking the law, so it’s not like this will make any difference.
Matt
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 8:32 PMDone it when it first came out, and it does not work for things like this as its a scam, and not an actual company that is being under guidelines.
We’ve had three the past 2 weeks, where i said straight out “not interested” then they hang up, or dad gets them to explain how they detected a virus when we dont have a computer, and they have difficulty trying to explain. What got me worried was though (a call earlier this year) was that somehow the guy recited name and address when i asked him how he got this phone number as we never gave “Microsoft” our number or details.
Late last year it also got to a point they yelled abuse at us saying they had called the federal police and be over shortly to arrest us, we just laughed and hung up and waited for a knock on the door, and long behold no one turned up :P
Tim
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 1:37 PMI’m tempted to setup a Virtual Machine, with a “how to hack into a machine via an open Logmein connection” document, and have a fancy program to fake hacking their machine and have some fun with them.
But alas i don’t have the time to do it.
John Kirkham
Sunday, August 7, 2011 at 11:45 AMClient of mine actually paid this mob. Yep totally naive ex school teacher(maths lol), but it was fun for him.
What the idiots did though was install a torrent client then download an ISO image of Windows 7. He’d left the PC on for 24 hours and, upped his download quota from 400MB/month to 7GB/month, on a 3G connection.
When I turned up, the file was only 50Kbytes in size(Bigpond don’t allow torrents on 3G). The key they’d given him for W7 Ulitmate was from a MSDN account.
He’d paid in 2 amounts. 1st was for $360. 2nd was $60 lifetime tech’ support.
And that’s how the bastards operate.
Jazarna
Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 10:16 AMAnother trick – when the scammer calls, tell them to ‘Please hold” then put the mouthpiece of the phone in front of the radio – the scammer can then listen to MUSAK, while you do more important things. Not sure how long they “hold” but who cares.
Bran Jenkin
Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 8:34 PMTelstra is dodgy anyway.
Bran Jenkin
Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 8:40 PMBought a T-Hub, and it was defective, they sent me a new one, also defective. They said wait for a software upgrade to see what happens – squat. Took 3 months for Telstra to cancel my service after requesting them to do so, have a bill for that and a bill for a defective T-Hub and they won’t budge. I know plenty of other people with defective T-Hubs and a couple with T-Boxes chucked in the bottom of their wardrobes. You decide, but I think the whole thing stinks.