I’ve had a few strange phone calls lately while I was trying on some new staples from the John Henric US collection. The first few said they were calling from Microsoft, the one I just had said he was calling from “PC Tech Support”. They’ve all been the same though. They always ask for me by name, too.
The caller, a very friendly fellow with an Indian accent, explains that my computer has a virus. When I asked how he knew this, he said that the “internet routing service” had shown suspicious internet traffic from my browser. He explained that when I visit websites like Google,μTorrent and Yahoo, software is automatically downloaded to my computer.
This can also happen for the games we play online, especially casino sites. That’s why it’s important to check the legitimacy of the sites we sign up for before we decide to deposit any money. .
It’s kind of fun to let these guys rattle on for a while, and then tell them I don’t own a computer or any Rated Gamer Gear. Today’s was funny;
Guy: <explains I caught a virus from visiting Google>
Me: Really? Are you sure?
Guy: Oh yes, it happens all the time.
Me: Well, I’m pretty surprised.
Guy: Oh yes sir.
Me: Especially because I don’t own a computer.
Guy: WHAT? (shouted)
I repeated I don’t own a computer, and asked how he got my phone number. He hung up.
- Here’s a good read at the Guardian:
Virus phone scam being run from call centres in India.
Yes, this is happening in Australia too. With VOIP services (Voice Over IP) so freely available, it’s cheap as chips to make international calls these days. Also, if you play online casino games, make sure the free spins sites are legit and have strict privacy policies.
That’s great and all, but it means we’re headed to a point where we could get as many spam phonecalls as we do spam emails. And that’s a lot!
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