So a man claiming to be something to do with Microsoft calls out of the blue and wants to fix my computer over the phone. It's a scam, isn't it?

[coppertop]

Especially as no-one's reported any problems and the computer is working just fine?

I had one of these calls this morning from a man with a strong (Indian?) accent who told me that my computer was running too slowly and that if I switched it on he could fix it in about 25 minutes. I asked him who had reported a fault and he said something about Microsoft but he was very difficult to understand.. I told him I was too busy and he wants to call back later. I've got no intentions of letting him have anything to do with my computer but wanted to check that this is a scam.

He asked for me by name so it wasn't a wrong number.

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of this?

yes, i had one of those calls, i said we had not reported anything and my husband worked in IT and the guy hung up,

said the same, that my computer was running slowly.

i would definitely think scam of some sort, and your name is on a long list somewhere that gets sold on to all sorts of companies

Bizarre! Never heard of that one but it def sounds very scammish or at least very odd.

Has your computer crashed recently and then come up with a "report problem to Microsoft" box?

No way Microsoft would call you up to sort it - even if you did speak to them, you'd be paying ( a lot!) for the phonecall. And mostly they won't talk to mere mortals anyway. Definitely a scam of some kind, though I don't know what - maybe they get you to log onto some site which will give you a virus? Or they get you to turn off all your safety features?

scam

how about a look at www.snopes.com, bet its on there

It was a very weird call. Even when he was putting the phone down he kept saying "And don't forget my name is Peter."

When those "report this fault to Microsoft" boxes come up I always click on "Don't send". I'm always a bit paranoid wary of those reports so avoid them.

Dh thinks it's probably one of those scams to get you to turn off firewalls and other protection. "Peter" is apparently going to be calling back this afternoon.

I've tried searching for the scam but haven't had any luck finding it yet.

Sounds like he would be able to somehow enable himself to gain access to your computer. Don't do it.

There is some info from people based in the US about this, or something very similar. It is quite possible that the same, or a copycat company are trying the same thing. See here, another one [[http://www.callercomplaints.com/SearchResult.aspx?Phone=210-249-0540 here] which seems similar.

I suspect it was some kind of telemarketing call, where they end up trying to sell you something, like a support package.

My rule of thumb is that I always call companies, not them call me out of the blue.

NannyNick - Some of those stories sounded very familiar. He answered every question with some rubbish about Microsoft and got really annoyed when I refused to switch my computer on. He phoned back (I presume it was him because it was at the right time) but I ignored the phone. It rang for ages too.

Thanks, everyone. It's nice to have my suspicions about the whole thing confirmed. Hopefully any other MNers getting these calls will find this thread somewhere in the archives.

Persistent Peter had the nerve to phone yet again this morning. Dh answered and told him that he works for Microsoft (he doesn't) and told him not to bother calling again. I don't know if he'll give up or will try again when he thinks dh won't be around. Cheeky bar-steward.