Information Madness

Looks like India is becoming famous for wrong reasons lately. First, India was listed as the spamming hub and now for running a phone call scam about computer viruses.

According to the Guardian, the scam is running quietly since 2008 from call centres based in Kolkata. The scam starts this way: the phone rings at someone's home, and the caller – usually with an Indian accent – asks for the householder, quoting their name and address before saying "I'm calling for Microsoft. We've had a report from your internet service provider of serious virus problems from your computer."

Dire forecasts are made that if the problem is not solved, the computer will become unusable.

The puzzled owner is then directed to their computer, and asked to open a program called "Windows Event Viewer". Its contents are, to the average user, worrying: they look like a long list of errors, some labelled "critical". "Yes, that's it," says the caller. "Now let me guide you through the steps to fixing it."

The computer owner is directed to a website and told to download a program that hands over remote control of the computer, and the caller "installs" various "fixes" for the problem. And then it's time to pay a fee: £185 for a "subscription" to the "preventative service".

The truth is, your computer was never infected with any virus. the caller is not working for Microsoft or the internet service provider

If you receive an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft Tech Support, hang up. Microsoft has no involvement in such scam and they infact have identified and terminated those so called "certified parters" who were involved in such scams.

read the full story at Guardian