[LittleDog]

Unbeknownst to me my wife received a call from "Microsoft telling her she had problems with her computer and they could fix it. They were able to get to her computer and were given her keystrokes to fix the problems. At the time I was taking a nap and she didn't want to disturb me. However, I awoke and went into the computer room and was listening to the advice my wife was receiving and what keystrokes to push. She then had a problem understanding and handed the phone to me. I told the guy this was a scam and hung up. Unfortunately my wife was not aware of this scam and thought it was legit even though the people that she talked to had an Indian accent. She said she didn't give them access to her pc but they did have access.

The thing that concerns me is the fact they may be able to access my her pc to get information off of it. I did call MMD computers and the girl I spoke with said they cannot access her pc without her permission but I don't think they need it any longer.

I then went to look into her files etc. and erased any files that were questionable and deleted her cookies. Also tried a system restore without success. Don't know what else to do. I was told that I could bring her pc into MMD computers and they could clean her hard drive.

That's my story. Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

John

[dbussone]

Did you try running a full system scan with your anti-virus software?

[jnieman]

Originally Posted by LittleDog

Unbeknownst to me my wife received a call from "Microsoft telling her she had problems with her computer and they could fix it. They were able to get to her computer and were given her keystrokes to fix the problems. At the time I was taking a nap and she didn't want to disturb me. However, I awoke and went into the computer room and was listening to the advice my wife was receiving and what keystrokes to push. She then had a problem understanding and handed the phone to me. I told the guy this was a scam and hung up. Unfortunately my wife was not aware of this scam and thought it was legit even though the people that she talked to had an Indian accent. She said she didn't give them access to her pc but they did have access.

The thing that concerns me is the fact they may be able to access my her pc to get information off of it. I did call MMD computers and the girl I spoke with said they cannot access her pc without her permission but I don't think they need it any longer.

I then went to look into her files etc. and erased any files that were questionable and deleted her cookies. Also tried a system restore without success. Don't know what else to do. I was told that I could bring her pc into MMD computers and they could clean her hard drive.

That's my story. Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

John

Just to be sure you might want to have one of the people from the Villages Computer club to come and take a look. I don't have their number, maybe someone else can list it.

[Loudoll]

Originally Posted by LittleDog

Unbeknownst to me my wife received a call from "Microsoft telling her she had problems with her computer and they could fix it. They were able to get to her computer and were given her keystrokes to fix the problems. At the time I was taking a nap and she didn't want to disturb me. However, I awoke and went into the computer room and was listening to the advice my wife was receiving and what keystrokes to push. She then had a problem understanding and handed the phone to me. I told the guy this was a scam and hung up. Unfortunately my wife was not aware of this scam and thought it was legit even though the people that she talked to had an Indian accent. She said she didn't give them access to her pc but they did have access.

The thing that concerns me is the fact they may be able to access my her pc to get information off of it. I did call MMD computers and the girl I spoke with said they cannot access her pc without her permission but I don't think they need it any longer.

I then went to look into her files etc. and erased any files that were questionable and deleted her cookies. Also tried a system restore without success. Don't know what else to do. I was told that I could bring her pc into MMD computers and they could clean her hard drive.

That's my story. Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

John

I am so sorry for what happened to you and your wife. You should be able to take your computer back to out-of-the-box condition. In other words, like when it was brand new. Go back to system restore and look for Advanced system restore, recovery or something that sounds similar and go from there. If you can't find it enter it into your search box on the start menu. Right now I would disconnect from the Internet. Best of luck, thank God she handed you the phone. Please let us know how this turns out.

[twoplanekid]

I have asked my dentist why I must come to his office every 6 months to have my teeth cleaned. I tell him that I floss and brush my teeth every day. He says that if I would just not eat, I might not have to see him. Acting like a dentist, I now tell people to stay off the internet to eliminate the chances of their having to bring their PC to me for a cleaning.

I would suggest you take the PC to a repair firm to have them reload. Good hackers can still get in but the chances are reduced and the PC should run as if new.

The Hackery - soon to be retired

[tomwed]

What to do if you already gave information to a tech support person

If you think that you might have downloaded malware from a phone tech support scam website or allowed a cybercriminal to access your computer, take these steps:

Change your computer's password, change the password on your main email account, and change the password for any financial accounts, especially your bank and credit card.

Scan your computer with the Microsoft Safety Scanner to find out if you have malware installed on your computer.

Install Microsoft Security Essentials. (Microsoft Security Essentials is a free program. If someone calls you to install this product and then charge you for it, this is also a scam.)

Note: In Windows 8, Windows Defender replaces Microsoft Security Essentials. Windows Defender runs in the background and notifies you when you need to take specific action. However, you can use it anytime to scan for malware if your computer isn’t working properly or you clicked a suspicious link online or in an email message.

go here for more information
Avoid Phone Scams | Cybercriminal Tech Support Scam | Security Threats

or click here

If you don't feel like doing this right away. Turn off the computer until you do.

[jpvillager]

This is a nation wide scam. They use a phone no with area code 806. The first thing to do is to get off the internet. Disconnect the wifi and/or Ethernet cable and maybe even turn off the PC. Sit back and develop a plan. If you have a second PC research the phone no on it to begin with. We had three phone call from this no. on Monday. I beleive the problem is that you have given them permission to use your pc the same as if they were sitting at it.

[Uberschaf]

When they call tell them you have a Mac and see how fast they hang up.Microsoft does not monitor your PC.

[twoplanekid]

I suggest that you tell the person on the other line to please hold as the FBI is running a trace on this line. Usually a click is quickly heard and they don’t call back.

[mac9]

The last time that I received one of those calls, He told me to go to my computer. I laid the phone down for about 10 minutes. I could hear him yelling, so I picked up the phone. I told him that my neighbor had my computer and I was waiting for her to bring it back. I think that I now know how to curse in Hindi!

[villagetinker]

OP,
If you do any banking or other financial transactions, and have your passwords on this computer, get to ANOTHER PC and change all of these immediately. I would go a step further, and get a credit freeze at all 3 major credit bureaus.

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by jpvillager

This is a nation wide scam. They use a phone no with area code 806. The first thing to do is to get off the internet. Disconnect the wifi and/or Ethernet cable and maybe even turn off the PC. Sit back and develop a plan. If you have a second PC research the phone no on it to begin with. We had three phone call from this no. on Monday. I beleive the problem is that you have given them permission to use your pc the same as if they were sitting at it.

806 is a valid area code....not part of the 800-system numbers. I get these calls from time to time, but they do not come in from area code 806. I still have my cell phone number out of Amarillo, Texas, and our area code there is 806. I kept it that way because it is a local call for my friends from there.

When he (always foreign accent) calls, I let him go into his routine until he tells me I have a "problem" with my computer, then I tell him, "No, I don't, you are a scammer and I don't talk to scammers." then hang up on him. Sometimes they call claiming to be from Windows, too. I think I will just tell them next time, "Oh yeah, I don't have a computer...scammer!"

[LittleDog]

Thanx for the info. Nothing untoward has happened. I took the PC today to MMD computers to have the disk cleaned so that should do the trick. I did delete a few questionable files yesterday.

John