Had a phone call this morning ... about my computer

14 years ago

There was a virus in it, he said, and he'd show me how to fix it.

When I demurred, he asked whether my computer was on, and when I said it wasn't, he said to turn it on.

I asked where he was calling from, and when he said "Florida", I told him that my service provider had nothing to do with Florida.

He said that this was related to Windows, and had nothing to do with my service provider - and I told him that Windows was out of Washington.

I told him that my computer wasn't here, that it was at the shop being fixed ... and that a lot of us old folks don't have computers.

I guess that I should have told him that in the first place.

I hadn't thought to tell him that I don't have a connection to the internet at my home, either.

Anyway - no guy calling on the phone, unannounced and unrequested, is about to tell me what stuff I should do, at his direction, to get rid of a virus that he knows is in my computer!

He didn't seem to hear when I suggested that maybe he'd be telling me how to get a virus ... and then his company could tell me how to get rid of it ...oh, yes, he did - he said that he wouldn't be suggesting that I bring anything in to it.

When my computer wasn't available ... he sort of lost interest (in a bit of a hurry?).

I hadn't got around to telling him that I'd be no more inclined to follow instructions on fixing my computer from someone calling me unheralded than I would be to giving my credit card number over the phone to an unknown someone making a similar phone call.

ole joyful

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Comments (8)

dedtired
14 years ago
OJ -- my 94 year old mother got a similar call. They called late in the evening (I'm sure she was asleep) to ask her about her computer. Then they proceeded to ask her if she had a computer! She said no, she doesn't have one and that was the end of the conversation. The caller ID also said Florida.

Actually, my mom does have a computer but it's the rest of the family that uses it when we are there. She doesn't go near it.

She knows better than to buy anything unsolicited over the phone. I also worry that calls like this are people calling to see if the house is empty so they can break in. I suppose they could be parked in front of the house with a cell phone number from Florida to circumvent the caller id. What a world we live in.
wanda_va
14 years ago
I've had that call two times. I just tell them thanks for letting me know--my stepson is a computer guru and will fix it. Goodbye....

It is a scam, but I guess a lot of people fall for it.
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joyfulguy
Original Author
14 years ago
When a guy tells me that I need to jump through a hoop ...

... I'm inclined to tell him to give me three reasons why I should.

ole joyful
heather_on
14 years ago
We get that call on a regular basis. I often tell them that I am have a Commmodore Vic 20 and a 386 with Windows 3.1 and DOS, and then I ask them which one has the virus. They hang up in a hurry.
jeaninwa
14 years ago
Gee...how nice of him, and how much was he going to charge you to "fix" your ocmputer?
threejs
14 years ago
Have the same number on my phone regularly and it is on block unless I pick up one of the hand held phones and don't check the number first. The last time he asked me to open windows I politely said......Why would I want to open them? It is raining and cold and besides I have brand new curtains at my windows and I like them pulled closed so nosy people like you cannot look in! He hesitated for only a few seconds before he went on again about opening them for my protection, I am pretty sure the conversation had gone over his head.
joyfulguy
Original Author
14 years ago
We hadn't gotten around to that.

Next time I may inform such a "him" early in the conversation that I never give out credit card numbers on the phone, especially to strangers who take the initiative to call me.

But that wouldn't work - he's assure me that he was giving his info away free ...

... if it were virus-ridden, it'd only be later, at the time of the repair, that I'd become aware of the sting in the tail!

ole joyful
joyfulguy
Original Author
14 years ago
Thread originator ...

... and killer ...

... again ...

... it appears!

o j

Had a phone call this morning ... about my computer

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