MuckleJoannie Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 I got a phone call from a gentlemen today who said he was phoning from Nerd Support. Microsoft had alerted them to the fact that my computer was sending out viruses and had asked them to sort it out. All I needed to do was to log on to their website and they would download some software to sort tye problem. After arguing with him for a few minutes he put the phone down on me. This is the first I have heard of Microsoft contacting computer users about viruses in this manner so I Googled Nerd Support. This is the first article I found. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/security/356833/pensioner-targeted-by-fake-virus-phone-scam A PC Pro reader was left startled after a customer support company rang his grandfather to tell him there was a virus on his PC, and then tried to charge him £185 to remove it. The story was related to PC Pro by reader Mike McCartney, who claimed that technical support firm The Nerd Support spent two hours on the phone with his 80-year-old grandfather, walking him through the process of downloading and installing a remote desktop application to find the supposed fault. "He had never contacted them previously, nor had he ever been on their website," said Mike McCartney. "I had only just taught him how to switch the computer on and get onto Google, he did not even have email at this point. They showed him a fake list of faults a full-page long, then directed him to a payment area for a bill of £185 "They showed him a fake list of faults a full-page long, then directed him to a payment area for a bill of £185," related McCartney, who arrived just in time to stop the payment. According to The Nerd Support's homepage the £185 buys one year's worth of support, however, a closer look at the company's Terms of Service reveals some worrying clauses. "The Nerd Support Group reserve the right to cancel service at any time with no prior notice, for any reason they, in their sole discretion, deem appropriate," it said. "You agree, as our client, to be financially responsible for all services rendered. You also agree to refrain from requesting 'charge-backs' or canceling any fees or service charges paid for with your credit card," it continued. That's not all that's suspect about the company's website. The Customer Testimonials and FAQs pages are copied from other websites, including iYogi - a legitimate customer support company - and amusingly still offer that company's phone number. We contacted The Nerd Support ourselves using the company's 0203 "freephone" number (which isn't actually free), which took us to a foreign-language menu system. Blindly pressing numbers led us to a customer service advisor who claimed to be based in London, but refused to give us a company address, or answer our questions, before hanging up. The company is not registered at Companies House, and a WHOIS search directed us to domain registrar GoDaddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebbidy Posted April 27, 2010 Report Share Posted April 27, 2010 yeah its pretty shocking the lengths people will go to just to get money from you. I bet alot of people have been affected by this who feel insecure about computers and/or the internetGlad to hear you did not fall into their scam. I would have said to them that i run a linux based OS and wind them up until they hang up i feel real sorry for the people who have been scammed like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jane_dsuza Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Hello Muckle Are you sure that you got call from the nerd support because i know this company very well and it's not a scam company .i am using their services from a long time and this company providing me better services ever i used .May be any one is doing mischief with you .So be careful anyone want to make you fool by using a reputed company name . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinm Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Don't listen to jane_dsuza (above) IT IS A SCAM and this person is obviously part of it. BE VERY VERY CAREFUL WHEN GIVING CREDIT CARD DETAILS OVER THE PHONE AND INTERNET. Don't be pressured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebbidy Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Hello Muckle Are you sure that you got call from the nerd support because i know this company very well and it's not a scam company .i am using their services from a long time and this company providing me better services ever i used .May be any one is doing mischief with you .So be careful anyone want to make you fool by using a reputed company name . WOW.....just WOW!!!! here is a video to explain what jane_dsuza just did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYANaLSryh0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances144 Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 I quite fancy one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/TrueCall-The-Nuisance-Call-Blocker/dp/B002GP7HQM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271170262&sr=8-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Sorry Muckle, I'm not going to trust your judgement on this one. A Shetland resident on a Shetland forum with 926 posts vs Jane from DENVER with 1 post. Jane surely is the correct one in this thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances144 Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Absolutely. I am with Jane from DENVER. Obviously the OP is a troll! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 ^^^^^^^^^^cheapersee http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtothet Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 Jane made me laugh a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances144 Posted April 28, 2010 Report Share Posted April 28, 2010 ^^^^^^^^^^cheapersee http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/tps/ Been there, done that and the others - MPS, FPS, TPS - they still get through. I have just signed up to Opt Out too with Royal Mail. http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400126&mediaId=500081 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zog Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 I have had three lots of calls from this number, from a very persistent man who says he is calling from Microsoft Help PC On Line.He insists that he works on behalf of BT, TalkTalk and others to help speed communication problems with the internet.When challenged he was unable to give the name of my ISP. I asked for a contact number and was given 0800 977 0035 which I was told belongs to Help PC On Line. The person I spoke to seemed confused and said it might have been from their promotions department.Basically they want you to log and let them connect to your PC and they will help you through a problem you may not have. At best is a sales promotion, its probably a scam.The 0800 I gave number has already been reporeted as telephone pest. BEWARE Zog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wullie m. Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 Zog, tell them to hang on a second and just get the tea on and read the paper, this causes no end of bother apparently! wullie m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitzy Posted August 9, 2010 Report Share Posted August 9, 2010 I had the same thing about 3 weeks ago - but it was about AVG Updates the person who persisted in telephoning could hardly speak english - I just put the phone down eventually but they telephoned again - always asking me to go to my computer and switch on for important updates. So thats another scam to watch out for. (***Mod Edit - Merged with similar topic***) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxFusion Posted August 10, 2010 Report Share Posted August 10, 2010 I got one of these unsolicited calls the other dayexept it was an automated voice on the other end saying it was HBOS with some inportant security info about my account...Scam I thought...Turns out it was HBOS fraud department and someone had scammed a pile of money out of my account! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.