Teamviewer scam - beware

[wodson]

this was attempted on me today (i live in Australia).
i was very hesitant at first and thankfully i soon realized that it was a scam and did not install the teamveiwer program.
However i do feel terrible for anyone who falls victim to this.

 

[clemo]

They also tried this today on me (Australia)

We got me to open Start > run
As soon as he got me to open the eventviewer (I knew this was a scam as soon as he got me to start typing eventvwr in)

I told him that I had IT knowledge & there was nothing wrong with my PC & I wanted to speak to his manager & I asked him to direct me to his company's website but he continued to say "okay, okay, no problems, if you could just go to our website & download some software"

I just ended up telling him that I was too busy & not to call again

 

[CarlTR6]

Those scum ought to be put away for a very long time.

 

[andyandrewjim]

the one thing with teamviewer is that once you gave them your computer. They can disable your keyboard and mouse. Then the only thing to do is to shut down the computer.

 

[boohbah]

i frequently get calls from "microsoft" and im told im using vista and to type event viewer in run . so i tell them thats not possible as im using linux and i hate microsoft and not to bother me any longer, this completely confuses the person on the other end as they dont have a script for this response ,it doesn't stop them calling but i get to play with them . haha!

 

[SteamTemplar]

It's a scam. They called me today (Australia) and id'd themselves as Microsoft, took me through the spiel about viruses etc which I was pretty skeptical about as I have a Norton running. As soon as they told me to go a third party site, I clicked (mentally) and googled it rather than go directly to it as they were telling me to. The google result immediately identified the site as selling remote access programs! I asked why they would send me to a third party site if they were MS and they denied saying that they were. I called them out on being scammers and got hung up on!

Thing to note / alarm bells:
The definitely ID themselves as MS and they were calling about errors reporting on my computer.
Having said that, my first suspicion was that that was excellent customer service. (HA!)
Indian(?) accent but ok english skills.
They also were unaware of which OS I was using even though they claimed to be reporting the errors to me.
Their knowledge of Windows was average.
The fact that I already has a decent virus suite running and that they were claiming major virus issues.
Obviously the big one is that they expect you to go to a 3rd party site (ie: non-Microsoft) to resolve the issue and download a remote access program.

Luckily for me, I'm not that dumb otherwise... :devil:

 

[Golden]

Good job.

 

[EzioAuditore]

i frequently get calls from "microsoft" and im told im using vista and to type event viewer in run . so i tell them thats not possible as im using linux and i hate microsoft and not to bother me any longer, this completely confuses the person on the other end as they dont have a script for this response ,it doesn't stop them calling but i get to play with them . haha!

Haha... Linux!! Well played counter Boohbah. :roflmao:

 

[pacinitaly]

I was gonna try it

 

[JMH]

I was gonna try it

Try it - use it.
It's a great program. Used here on a daily basis.
Efficient, fast & reliable is what I have found.

Scams happen.... & will continue.
Caveat emptor applies always

 

[zigzag3143]

Social hacking will always be around. If they call you ask for a callback number at the company and then still dont trust them.

Team Viewer is a great app. Just dont fall for the anonymous voice on the phone

 

[kado897]

I had a call like that a few months ago. They said they were calling on behalf of my internet provider. When I asked them who my internet provider was they said they represented all of them. I hung up. :roflmao:

 

[pacinitaly]

if you guys say so, I'll try it

 

[wds7]

I use Teamviewer to help family and friends resolve PC issues so when I read your title I got nervous that the Software had an issue. As for the scam, I'm sadly not surprised one bit

i don't think teamviewer has an issue .just that it's an open source so crooks use it to pray on seniors ..... we all have to be aware of these things now a day .

 

[wds7]

As in US ....ISP don't call you unless you call them first to report problem ....
So be aware ..

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
I might be a bit of a DINOSAUR at times but I will NEVER answer security questions on the phone -- why should I answer security / personal info stuff to people at the other end who'm I've never met.

This way you won't get bothered by DEBT COLLECTORS, SCAM PEREPETRATORS, COLD CALLERS etc etc. Just politely say IN Writing Only and then put the phone down.

The only possible exception I *Might* make to this is if I'M calling say Microsoft to activate windows -- but I've never had them asking these types of "Security Questions", or on the very very rare occasion I've had to call the BANK because my card wasn't working at a "Hole in the wall" cash machine --but in each of these cases I initiated the call.

Telphone "Harassment" is the biggest current method of getting security details from people so NEVER give UNSOLICITED callers ANY details whatsoever.

If you handle this type of stuff properly you are unlikely to get scammed on the computer either.

As for preying on Seniors --PLEASE it's the UNDER 30's that are totally incapable of doing anything unless they are twiddling on Mobile Phones all day long or walking around with headphones glued to their ears or both.

Theres plenty of SENIORS who could teach the youngsters a thing or two about not getting scammed etc etc.

We aren't all Total technophobes --although looking back on it sometimes it *might* not have been so bad if we were.

Finally if you CAN get the company / name of the organisation doing the cold calling ALWAYS report them to whatever Loacal Authority standards you have in your area such as "Fair trading Laws", "Chamber of Commerce" or whatever it is in your Country.

In the UK there is also a list available that which will tell you what organisation is using what numbers -- with the huge use of Indian Call centres there are some Bulk numbers that various companies use.

Incidentally another way of getting rid of these pests is to have a decent phone recording system such as TRUECALL. You have then got a great audit and evidence to report these wretched people to the various legal organisations in your Country dealing with Telephone Harrassment and the like.

I really loathe these types of businesses and have reported LOADS myself to OFT and its great to see them HUGELY FINED.


For more info follow this link

http://www.truecall.co.uk/

Cheers
jimbo

 

[kutter]

A customer of mine have just had someone pull this on them. Someone called her and said there is something wrong with your computer and we need to check it. (She is an oldie with no real knowledge of computer security).

She was told to switch on her machine and walked through how to download Teamviewer. Once they were in, with her permission, they could do what they liked. Luckily she does not do any e-banking. She does however use her card to do e-shopping.

When she was asked to pay for the service over a 'secure line' she did smell a rat and told them to get off her machine. However, they could have left a keystroke trojan in her machine. I have told her to switch her machine off and not use it until I can get there tomorrow to check everything out.

Please take note there are a lot of people out there ready to scam anybody - especially the vulnerable.

:sarc:Kutter:- This just happened to my mother, luckily i was there and didnt have alot to do at the time mwhahaha. I just spent 40mins on the phone to someone trying to tell me my computer was infected "YARDA YARDA YAWN" and i needed to install teamviewer. Well when he said "I" for idiot istead of indigo i thought "Lets let him continue". o'what fun i had running up there bill!:devil:

HOWEVER IF ANYONE PHONES YOU - If your not expecting the call and you dont want to be rude ask them who there calling from and say you'll phone them back and you'll get there number from yellow pages or the internet.(This way your phoning a number you found and not the scammer) Microsoft will never phone you unless you ask them too....

ASLO - if anyone is intrested AVG Free antivirus picks what they do to your system up. But id really look to reinstall your PC or return it to a repair person if you were falled by this call! Better safe then lossing your life saving via your PC


:devil::devil::devil::devil::devil:

 

[maria12]

I have received this calls several times over the last few months and ignored it, but last week they asked for me by my maiden name?? its unusual so I found that strange, still I hung up, but today I received another asking again by my married name, I only moved house a month ago, new phone number, so how are they getting these details???? the woman said I had filled out some form when I bought my computer, I didn't. she did give me a call back number in Queensland if I changed my mind.

 

[Kramseivad]

Got a phone call today from one i led him on for a while before he got mad when i said the wrong id asked me to go back to google and type in teamviewer so i quoted this forum and launched a racist tirade and played the tunka tunk song down the phone he was saying stuff like **** your mother and phone us back so much after every second and my mother answered and he said to her i am gonna by a condom and **** u..

oh and ofc he was trying to threaten me with legal action over my racism pretending he is recording it it was clear after a while he was recording he was not being offensive and begging me to play the song but i was to smart from him he also said before he would edit out his bits and make me sound bad even though i was replying to what he said so xD and well after about 20 mins of him calling I threatened to phone the police if he keeps calling. not heard from him since xD

 

[kado897]

Racism doesn't help.:shock: