I came across a genuine scam today which is worth passing on, especially to those who are not as computer-savvy as some.
A window pops up on your PC and says that you have loads of infections and your hard drive is about to expire irretrievably. It looks like it is a Microsoft pop-up. There is an 0800 number so you call it, it is free after all. A convincing Indian man will then explain the risk, say that he is from Microsoft and somehow put a piece of software called Remote Rescue or similar on your PC to analyse it. He will then tell you they can clean it for a price, in this case it was £300 by credit card. They then draw a few pretty patterns on your screen, tell you it is done and off you go. What then becomes of your credit card numbers is anybody's guess.
The company doing this call themselves E-mobilize, www.emobilize.net The number they use is 0800 0588121. They are run by 3 Indian nationals called Saurabh Basak Born Sep 1987; Muthuraja Mani Born Jul 1979 Shaswat Ravi Born 2Dec 1984. The company is registered to a very low rent accountancy firm called Husain Bulman & Co, 258 Merton Road London SW18 5JL.
They process their payments through a firm called Pinnacle E-Serve who are run by another pair of Indians, Mrs. Shivani Jain Born Nov 1976 and Mr Sudhir Abba Born Oct 1970.
Enquiries continue, but please warn your friends and share as widely as possible.
I think I was scammed by this! I had a blue screen come-up (BSoD) with an O800 number, I phoned it and the Indian guy from 'Microsoft' said he and only he could fix it. Well, some four hours later and £180 lighter in my bank the computer appears to have fixed it. However, he did add a bit of software called Adblocker+ which does block those annoying pop-up ads. Scam or genuine - who knows!!! I could go nowhere on my computer with the 'Blue Screen of Death' - the Indian guy's name was Naveen.
ReplyDeleteJools
Hi Julian & Colin, yes you were scammed by this, as I have been, to the tune of £150, which I am endeavouring to reclaim through my Credit Card company. I too had the pop up blue screen,which locked up my screen, then, when I tried to close, was greeted by an American voiced lady advising that I MUST phone that 0800 number IMMEDIATELY. I was greeted by the quiet speaking (Nick) Naveen, who gave me the impression (as with Julian) that I was speaking Directly with (Microsoft), advising me that my computer had been compromised, followed by his showing me a screen that numerous users were using my IP address, with other hackers waiting to gain access as my Firewall & security protection had been shut down. It appears that they are targeting the elderly relying on the media hype of hacking into Banks & major companies, inducing the 'Fear Factor' by misrepresentation & fraud.
DeleteLindsay Finlayson, similar story.Indian girl called Anjaney answered the phone I assumed I was speaking to Microsoft.£249.99 and four hours later I had my comuter back.They used the same Malwarebytes tool that Microsoft use..
ReplyDeleteNo damage was done to the laptop as I had Microsoft do a scan.Cancelled my bank card though.
ReplyDeleteDave Gale
ReplyDeleteJust advising scam is still active.
Fell for a pop-up which quoted my own ISP & said the ISP had reported suspicious activity originating from my IP address & I should call a toll free number immediately to receive Microsoft technical support. Indian man going by name of Neel took call, said he was MSCE working for Microsoft partner organisation called Emobilize Limited. Talked me through running some DOS reports which he said confirmed I had been hacked & had a Trojan on board. Asked me to grant him remote access. When I agreed, he ran some more DOS listings which he said confirmed the problems, highlighting in red what he alleged were significant problems. Then asked me to sanction him to do his programming work which would provide lifetime protection against further hacks. Cost would be £149.99. When he asked me to provide card details I backed out at which he got angry. Hung up but I can't be sure he didn't plant some malware while he was remotely connected. You folks keep your wits about you...
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ReplyDeleteI just dialled the 0800 number for help and got a message that the number had changed and to dial 118820 then came a message that the call rate would be £6.98 for the first min. and ....something less thereafter.
ReplyDeleteI paid £299.99 by credit card Nov. 5th 2014. somebody went into my account while my computer was being "fixed" a year ago haven't used it since. Be warned.
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DeleteSomething popped up on my screen saying Trojan is in my laptop. Called the number in the screen, an Indian man answered. I just recently bought a laptop from Curry's and still has internet security and the man said it was not enough to protect my laptop. Insist that I buy 'life time security called Emobilise and pay £100'
ReplyDeleteI told him I needed to call know how, an insurance I bought with my laptop but said theirs is better deal. Remotely accessed my computer. whilst he's doing that, I browsed thru my mobile 'Emobilise' and found your blog and immediately turned off my laptop and cancel sharing to deactivate the remote. I called my credit card company to dispute the payment as it was scam. Thanks to you and to your blog.
This scam is still current, but appears to be "harmless" in the sense that they don't appear to put malware on your computer (yet at least!) I phoned my bank (better not name it) and they said that payment had ALREADY been blocked by their automatic systems. I never DREAMED I'd get scammed!
ReplyDeleteYep, it just recently happened to me too. I just paid out $400USD to get the necessary security to stop hackers as my device (and every device in our home) was compromised, so they said. My Indian guy was called Abby Williams. My bank also had blocked the payment but I paid through Paypal....doh! I've only just emailed Paypal to see if I can get my money back.... I never dreamed I'd get scammed either, I feel such an idiot! I wish I'd seen this blog!
ReplyDeleteI got scammed as well. I contacted Microsoft via their messenger channel and asked if they were working with Emobilize. M said that they would never ask their customers to call any number and will not assist with Remote Assistance unless requested by the client. M also confirmed with me that they do not work with any 3rd parties and any technical support goes through them directly at their support helpline found on their website. Indian who spoke to me was by the name of Alfie Lockwood . Already found it highly suspicious when that name was given to me , but the whole setup looked so legit and it was also during the time my anti-virus subscription expired. I foolishly believed that I was dealing with M. I got the Real Microsoft guys to do a cleanup of all the progs the scammers installed on my comp (freeware BTW), called back Emobilise and made a fuss . They were def not happy but agreed to refund me 100% into the Creditcard . Then an email came to me to apologize. This time name of company on email was Appzech. Dunno if Appzech genuinely exists. So beware of certain download sites that u go to on PC as these scammers will 'plant their traps' there. And a way of getting out of that frozen dialogue box is 'ALT TAB'
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