possible scam

[kenmar40]

I got a phone call supposedly from Virgin re on line security on my devices. Using eventvwr showed me all the warning notiifications. Knew my account number and my ip addess. Then wanted to install alpemix to delete warnings and install protection. Claimed to be in Griffin House, 161 Hammersmith Rd, W6 8BF. Phone no 02039837868 does not take incoming calls. I then decided I did not trust them, I have had multiple similar calls in the past from scammers claiming to be from BT which Virgin don't use, so I hung up the phone. I was called back several times until I left the phone off the hook for a while. Contacting Virgin is a nightmare so just wondered if there was a computer nerd, no offence intended, in this forum who could advise me or anyone else who has had a similar experience.

Thanks

Ken

[goslow · Accepted solution]

Not so much a possible scam attempt but a 100% certain scam attempt! VM don't make unsolicited tech support calls in this way.

The aim of the scammers is to convince you that they are VM and have identified a problem. They will then offer to fix the (fictitious) problem by remotely accessing your computer. From there they will try to access your online banking with a view to stealing money from you or some other kind of fraud.

If they call again (which they almost certainly will do) just hang up on them and don't speak with them.

Some online guides below may help with explaining a range of different phone scams and how they operate.

Met Police
https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/central/advice/fraud/met/little-booklet-of-p...

Neighbourhood Watch
https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/telephone-scams

I use this device

https://www.truecall.co.uk/category-s/116.htm

which screens out the scam callers but does allow approved numbers from friends and family to come through uninterrupted.

[Gareth_L]

Hi kenmar40

I'm not a nerd, "no offence taken" I hope this helps 

These calls are becoming more and more frequent and its near impossible to stop them

Most scammers find a away to get tracking software installed on your device through phishing emails. When you get connected with any site this allows the site to get access to your IP address and device location and then it gets set to calls that you have received 

If you get any more you can report them here 

It might also be best to run a full virus scan on all your devices

Gareth_L

[kenmar40]

Thanks for replies.

Knew it had to be a scam. Not my first rodeo but these guys are getting more and more convincing. It's easy to see how someone less wary would get ripped off. 

Cheers

[jem101]

A scam certainly, but what I would find worrying is how they apparently knew your VM account number and IP address!

@kenmar40 did they just quote an account number to you along with an IP address similar to 82.x.y.z? Did you check to see if they were the real thing or just assume they were because it sounded realistic?

[kenmar40]

Thanks for the reply.

yep, scary.

He reemed off my account number which although I didn't check it sounded very familiar. Also he told me to put an instruction in the run box, unfortunately I didn't record it, which brought up my ip address which he quoted correctly.

This isn't my first rodeo. I frequently get the same calls supposedly from BT regarding my internet but I know they are scams because Virgin does not use BT system though other broadband providers do. I am very sceptical re any cold call and know not to install anything that gives access to my system, I am just reporting this as they were very convincing and any one less sceptical could easily have been taken in. 

[jem101]

Ah that's less worrying, from what you describe, the IP address business was just a con and a bit of guesswork. The account number could just have been a set of random numbers in the same format and length of a VM account number. Most people wouldn't know their account number nor know to get hold of it quickly so if someone calls you and says 'your account number is 12345667, right?' the temptation is just to agree and then later forget what they said and just assume they quoted the right number to you.

John

[goslow]

From the many YouTube videos on this, the usual scam format seems to be to get the victim to run event viewer to demonstrate all the many errors and warnings on the device. Then run netstat to show some IP addresses on screen and helpfully point out the column heading marked 'Foreign Address' to highlight yet further danger! Chuck in the use of the tree command to simulate a fake virus scan for good measure.

Even when the scammers' story starts to fall apart (such as an incorrect account number or ISP name) they just keep going with their script and try to style it out!