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This computer 'virus' scam will cost you big
lovemoney.com – Fri, Feb 8, 2013 15:52 GMT

My phone rings. It's a cheap internet call from India. But it's not a so-called “consumer survey”. Instead, it's “Alex Carter”. And he is serious – he works for an information technology support team.
He warns me my computer is full of harmful viruses and that the processor has “already almost stopped working.” Even worse, my “percentage error levels” have hit 85. And how does he know all this?
He's a “Microsoft Certified” engineer who has discovered these “facts” because he has scanned my machine via my wireless modem.
Knowing this to be a scam but pretending to be worried, I ask what to do. “I can provide free assistance. But I am a technician, not a magician so I don't know what my colleagues will offer.” As I had to catch a train, I told Alex to call back the next morning.
To my amazement, he did. He told me he worked for a firm called British IT Solutions which was the “only company in the UK helping Microsoft.” He was getting “very harmful internet reports” from my number. The computer was turned off.
“How do you know?” The reply came: “The computer is linked to the router, and the router is linked to the phone line.” This is, of course, a statement of fact and not an explanation.
“Some processors have already stopped working and the computer is sending signals to Microsoft Global Services of many errors,” he informed me.
I enquired how I could fix the problem as I knew “processor failures and viruses were very harmful”.
Assuring me that this was not a sales call, Alex told me to turn my computer on. I did not so I asked again about Microsoft. “The computer sends errors to Microsoft and it passes them on to us as we are part of a certified tech team. You don't need to pay a single penny and we'll show how to delete the errors, warnings, and other problems in my computer. It is my job to tell you about this.”

The lies get bigger

I then revealed that my computer does not run on Windows – it uses a variant of the Linux operating system called Ubuntu. He was confused for a second but not put off. Alex had been trained with a just about plausible, although false, line for those with Apple or other operating systems.

“Because you are running Linux, all internet companies are connected to the global server run by Microsoft which sends us error messages.”

Telling him my machine was working perfectly did not deter him either. “It may appear fine at the moment, but errors and warnings create a problem slowly, then come faster and when they multiply. After a few months your computer will crash and you will lose all your data.”

Scary stuff but a nasty cocktail of unmitigated rubbish and blatant lies.

I finally asked about the firm's website. He said it was part of RedHat.com.

Another outright and outrageous lie. Just as there is absolutely no link between this cold caller in India and Microsoft (whose website has a disclaimer), there is also no connection between the scam firm which phoned me and Red Hat, a US software support company which specialises in Linux applications. Red Hat, a US quoted company worth around $11billion, has told me that using its name in this way is not just confusing, it is criminal. There appears to be no trace of British IT Solutions.

What would have happened

Had I been a nervous person or a computer novice, it would have been all too easy to fall for this long running scam which has resurfaced after a quiet year or two. The perpetrators hope that the interval means we have forgotten the previous warnings.

And here's what would have happened. I would likely have been asked to download remote access software which would have allowed Alex's friends to control my machine from India. They would then have downloaded malware and then charged me up to £185 (plus £100 annual fee) to remove it.

Either way, it's big bucks for them and even if Alex only fooled one person a day, he will have earned his employers far more than he costs.

This call was simply computer garbage. The sooner these people are sent to prison the better – sadly vulnerable people fall for their nonsense every day.

How to get your money back after a scam

If you have been scammed, you haven't received goods you ordered, or a product isn't as it was described to you, you could easily get your money back.

By Neil Faulkner | lovemoney.com – Thu, May 10, 2012

Lost money to a scam? Getting it back could be easier than you think (Image © Fotolia)

The police and Financial Services Authority admit that they're usually powerless to get your money back after you've been scammed. However, there's a way to do so yourself in many cases, and with relative ease.

If you make any purchases of between £100 and £30,000 and pay for it, or even just part of it, using your credit card, your card provider should pay you back for the entire loss in the event of scam.

It isn't just obliged to do this for scams either. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act ensures that the card provider must reimburse you if a retailer doesn't deliver the goods or service, or if the product is not as described.

How customers are getting their money back

Credit card companies don't always agree when a customer makes a section 75 request to be reimbursed. Often, customers then complain to the free Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). It's these borderline cases that give us the most insight into when and where this legal right can be used.

The Ombudsman has just published some recent examples of its decisions relating to section 75. Here are some of the customers who succeeded in getting their money back.

Broken promises
Mrs S paid £3,500 for a holiday club on her credit card on the assurance that she would get the whole membership fee back after five years. On receiving the paperwork, however, she realised she'd been tricked.

She complained to the FOS when her lender didn't believe her “recollection of events”. The FOS found public accounts of others taking legal action against the holiday club, so it considered there to be enough evidence and justification for the card provider to reimburse Mrs S, and ordered it to do so.

Ill-fitting suits
Mr C paid £800 for a tailor-made suit on his credit card. When the finished suit was delivered to him, it didn't fit properly. He asked the tailors to make alterations, but they didn't show up for the appointment and Mr C had no luck when he complained further.

The lender refused to reimburse Mr C, but the FOS saw evidence from both sides, including photos of Mr C wearing the badly fitting suit. It decided that Mr C had done everything he could to get the tailors to correct their mistakes, and so it ordered the lender to reimburse him.

Paying a deposit below the £100 limit
Miss N paid a £99 deposit on her credit card for a £1,000 sofa but, before delivery, the retailer went out of business. Her lender refused to compensate her under section 75, saying she had spent less than £100, so she complained to the FOS.

Although Miss N had only lost £99, the purchase price was £1,000, which means she is covered by section 75. The FOS ordered the card provider to reimburse Miss N.

Make sure you understand section 75

Not everyone is successful when they claim under section 75, even if they take a complaint to the FOS. Indeed, Phillipa Cook, spokeswoman for the Ombudsman, told me that probably a little under half of the section 75 complaints the Ombudsman hears are successful.

We can learn from other customers' mistakes.

Paying a deposit below the £30,000 limit
Mrs T used her credit card to pay a deposit of £3,000 to a building company for an overseas property that was going to cost £162,000. The property was never completed and the building company didn't return her calls. Her lender refused to reimburse her and she complained to the FOS.

Unfortunately, it's not the size of the deposit that counts for section 75, but the value of the entire purchase. Since that was over the £30,000 limit, the FOS rejected Mrs T's complaint.

Changing your mind
Mr W joined a holiday club, but later changed his mind when he realised he could pay less by shopping around for holidays by himself. He asked his card provider to reimburse him. When it refused, he complained to the FOS.

The FOS decided that the holiday club had not given false or misleading information to Mr W, nor had it breached the contract. Finding that there are better deals elsewhere is not grounds for section 75, so it rejected Mr W's complaint.

New bank scam

I still would not open anything that has game over in the text can't find any info on this except what is on the link at bottom.

FYI

FBI warns of new banking scam

Some crafty criminals are aiming to steal one of the most valuable pieces of your personal property: your banking information.

In a new warning, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warns account holders of a new spam email scheme that involves a type of malware called "Gameover." The scheme involves fake emails from the National Automated Clearing House Association, the Federal Reserve or the FDIC. These messages attempt to trick recipients into clicking on a link to resolve some type of issue with their accounts or a recent ACH transaction. Once you click on the link, Gameover takes over your computer, and thieves can steal usernames, passwords and your money.

The FBI also warns the thieves' hacking capabilities can navigate around common user authentication methods banks use to verify your identity, which is certainly a cause for concern. Those additional authentication steps -- often personal questions, birth dates or other pieces of private information -- are meant to provide some extra security padding.

While phishing scams are nothing new to the world of online banking, this type of warning serves as a reminder of just how susceptible account holders can be to malicious attacks. As more account holders begin to jump on the mobile banking bandwagon, it's important to remember that a smartphone essentially acts as another computer. While this additional connection to the Internet is convenient, it also serves as another outlet where your information can be compromised.

Here are a few crucial steps to take to avoid falling victim to this type of Internet crime.

•Keep your computer and mobile device updated with the newest versions of anti-virus software.
•If you have any doubts about an email sender's authenticity, do not click on any embedded links.
•Remember, banks never request any personal information via email.

•Be vigilant about checking your account balances. The sooner you notice and report any type of fraudulent activity, the more likely you'll be able to be reimbursed for any missing funds.

Have you ever fallen victim to an online banking attack? If so, do you have any tips for other readers to avoid the trap?

Read more: FBI warns of new banking scam | Bankrate.com http://www.bankrate.com/financing/banking/fbi-warns-of-new-banking-scam/#ixzz1piMg2eRd