The Indian Call Centre virus hoax has been around for some years but has mostly targeted the US and Europe. But no more, as this morning I received a call from an Indian-sounding male which ran along exactly these lines. “Sir, we’re calling from Microsoft because your ISP has indicated you have viruses coming from your system.” So South Africans as now being targeted with the scam and likely some may fall to it if it’s new to them. It goes as follows:
- you get a call from someone indicating they are from Microsoft or calling on behalf of Microsoft
- they have an Indian or Middle-Eastern accent
- they say that your ISP has indicated you have a virus on your system
- for a small fee, they can login to your computer remotely and fix the problem
- you give them your credit card details and access to your system or they redirect you to a website to buy a “Fix-It” program
The scam is mostly concerned with getting your money but the risk of opening your computer up to a complete stranger could be an even greater risk. It’s important to identify scams like these immediately so you don’t get drawn into a potentially harmful situation. If there was a problem with your machine being infected and causing issues with your internet link, your own ISP would call you. And make sure you get adequate credentials or call the person back on the ISP’s direct number. Whenever someone contacts you for information or access to a system ( via phone, email or another method ), always be mindful and suspicious – it could be a scammer intent on defrauding your or using your identity for other nefarious reasons. Better safe than sorry.
Here are some links that provide more information:
http://indiancallcenterscam.blogspot.com/
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-security/windows-service-centre-call-saying-to-pay-them-to/ba288cf6-23b8-4cf8-9358-b9a6a62dbe2e
http://www.kristianbrown.co.uk/?p=608
http://www.bitterwallet.com/microsoft-phone-scam-being-run-from-indian-call-centres/32278
Update:
I’ve just had my second call today, this time from a lady – I went along with it for a while to see what exactly they wanted to do. When she asked me to go to the Start button ( of course I don’t have one seeing as I’m running KDE/Linux ), and I repeatedly told her I could find it, she asked me which version of Windows I was running. The moment I said Linux, she put the phone down. I wonder who is next?