Computer Scam- Do not call 855-462-1908
On the computer today and computer froze and big icons appeared on screen that I had a internet virus and to call 855-462-1908 for help. I tried all ways to shut down the computer and could not so called that number. Connected to a Amy who proceeded to "show" me how to get rid of all the viruses plus a trojan by following her instructions which I did for over 1/2 hour from my home phone and PC computer. I told her I needed this expedited as I had a appointment to keep in a few minutes she said she would have to call in a outside computer technician and it would cost me $299.99..I told her I was a old lady on a limited income and so she said she could have it taken care of for $149.95....By then my radar was up and I told her I would have to hang up..She said my computer will not work so I said I had no choice. Hung up and called my son and he told me what to do. He said this is a scam going around and these people are almost the same as a virus as they can get in your computers and cause havoc to you and your pocketbook..
Do not call that number.....855-462-1908 as I did today...It is a scam!!!!
joyful Sounds like a cryptoware/ransomware virus. I had one that attacked my laptop a few months ago. Only actual solution anyone's come up with short of restoring the computer and losing all of your files (fine by me as the computer was pretty new and had little), is to actually pay the ransom. Ridiculous.
fuji
Skippy Exactly fuji, this is the computer ransom scheme. When you call them, their instructions *install* a virus that shuts your computer down until you pay them. Joyful is very lucky to have hung up on them in time.
GC I am still getting pop ups on the computer and not able to shut down until I say OK. The last one was a picture of a dog jumping around with big letters by it HUrr=Durr.. and two screens asking me say OK and I just called my son again and he told me how to get out of that. Sure hope I do not lose this computer altogether because of this. What rotten people are out there. My son tried to tell me it is very prevalent now as people need money and will do anything to get it....
We had the same pop up it appears to be from Microsoft but you cannot get rid of it. We have Kaspersky anti-virus which is supposed to be really good, but got this virus anyway. Did not call the number and tried uninstalling all recent installs but the computer keeps shutting down. If I find a way to finally get rid of it I'll post again, have some IT friends.
You're right joyful, what kind of person has nothing better to do than spread something like this around?
hktownie A good luck joyful.....I had to wipe an iPad back to new condition...saving nothing...to get rid of that stuff.......
5catmom I had a really nasty virus once and Norton Power Eraser got rid of it for me. Give it a shot:
https://security.symantec.com/nbrt/npe.aspx
It's free too.
emaxxman 
htownnewbie People at the other end of the number install spyware as well as various encryption and software to take over and shut off the computer. There was never any adware to begin with. At this point the computer will likely be taken control of again just like they did to "fix" it. They may be already downloading files in the background looking for passwords and credit card numbers. It should be shut down until it can be completely redone again from scratch. Certainly doing anything like going to on line banking or financial sites would be problematic.
The important thing to do first is to make sure you disconnect it from the internet! If you have it hardwired to the modem, then press down on the connector's tab and then carefully pull the network cable out of the computer connector. If you're on WIFI, & that's the only thing on it, then turn off the modem or router's WIFI signal. That way, no matter what they do, they can't pull more info from your computer. A friend or your son can download malwarebytes or other needed programs onto a USB stick and run them straight from that, so you don't have to hook up to the internet to download anything yourself.
Phil D. There is ways to get rid of it. I know some of them are different ways than others. As a computer tech, I will say its possible, and most can even be removed with free software.
OneTiredGuy Give Adam Pell a call (908) 645-0429. He is from Belvidere and sure helped me when I had a "lot" of viruses. You can e-mail him at adam@computerwizard911.com. A very nice young man, and reasonable.
Ms Fishy Guys/Girls- there is an excellent free program that will knock out almost any of this crap-
It is called RougeKiller.
Amusingly, the term I came up with when someone manages to lock up a computer in this manner is- Pornicated.
Yup, you pornicated your computer. :)
Josh Thanks, Ms Fishy. I wrote down his number ..just waiting to see what my son wants me to do at this point. I know he cannot come home to help as he is working long hours right now. I am using another computer for now for just essentials.
@Ms. Fishy.....do you know if Adam Pell works on iPads? I'll email him, too...we have a piece of headphone pin stuck in the jack. Thanks!
Mom of 1&1 Mom of 1 & 1, not sure about the iPads. Give him a call, doesn't cost anything to ask. As I said he is a very nice guy.
Thanks skippy
I'm always amazed by how many people don't think of that, but if there's no connection to the internet, they can't pull anything off your computer, as you well know. The sooner one disconnects, the better.
Oddly, I found also that if one gets one of the initial screens of any kind, hitting the "X" before it is able to fully load will sometimes stop it, as does clicking fast enough on the close button - LOL
Second the suggestion about MalwareBytes. Install it now, before you need it, as some malware will block you from installing it, and keep it updated. The free version works well to remove malware. There is also a professional version for $24.95 a year that will help keep it off of your computer.
http://www.malwarebytes.org
rbilly joyful, pull out the Ethernet cable, or shut down the wifi card if its wireless, pull that machine off of the internet, no connectivity is your best friend for that right now!
have someone come over with the software tools to clean boot your machine from a dvd or memory stick and then go in and clean out the virus
DO NOT DO ANY BANKING OR INVESTMENTS OR EMAIL WITH THAT MACHINE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE THAT IT IS CLEAN
sorry for shouting, wanted to make a point,
BrotherDog Thanks, Skippy...this woman on the other end was very convincing...she knew her job well...and those that know me know I am not easily duped....Not until she mentioned a cost...and then a reduced cost did I hang up on her.... My son was telling me that a college graduate friend of his who is known for her intelligence had the same thing happen to her and she did send them the almost $300 to correct her situation.
Another scam phone number: 234-321-3432. They sound like their from India, static, can barely here them. They were calling 3 times a day, all hours, until we answered. I kept them on the phone, talking about everything except what they were trying to sell (something about computers). When they would try to redirect me, I would start acting "weird " again. We were laughing (quietly) as we kept the charade going for like 20 minutes before they finally got it. They never called again. I now use this number if I want to log into something that requires a phone number and don't want to give out mine. Let THEIR phone ring a hundred times a day!
Somehow, the "do not call registry " is gone or just doesn't work.
sparks1964jbc Often for these scams, your first line of defense is the internet. Just google the number if you wonder if legit or not.
Also check your credit card bills; there's a number of companies that "piggy back" on other bills and sign you up for some stupid monthly service like credit card monitoring, credit monitoring or the like. Might only be a $9.95 monthly bill which you might not notice. First one I got was like AAsomething which looked like Triple A to me so I missed it for a bit. One of them today is OTL Scoresense.com. Lots and lots of complaints.
Just google them and check the complaints. Cancel and then call your credit card company and say: "I do not remember authorizing these charges, is there anything you can do to help?" Often you will do no more but might get 3 to 6 months of past changes back.
Scammers, I hate these guys (Indian Credit Card Jones)
strangerdanger Thanks for all the heads up info ...
I'm one of those who did not grow up with this gadgetry ... used to just watch the TV, listen to the radio, and read the paper.
Andy Loigu You're right strangerdanger, there are websites devoted to nothing but lists of phone numbers that keep calling with telemarketers, scams and solicitors. Not just one site like 800notes.com, whocallsme.com, and others - there are several hundred such sites and each one has 10,000 or more listed numbers. Listing them all here could start now and never stop for another 100 years. And most of the numbers are not in service, that's on purpose so you have no where to call back. Some of the worst problems is if one of the scammers chooses to show your phone number as Caller ID. Imagine you got all of the complaint calls to your home phone.
With so many caller ID as fake, best thing to do is to not answer unless you know for sure who it is. Anyone legit can leave a message.
Crap. My generally quite savy mom just fell for this one. Didn't fall for the second call to "the technician" but her computer is now completely compromised. Nothing like an early morning call from mom to start your day. ;-)
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