Genealogy Chat

Just reading on the BBC website that Internet users are being warned about cold callers who offer to fix viruses but then install software to steal personal information.

Full details here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11754487.

We've been plague here in Queensland of those types of phone calls. Say they are from Microsoft.

Yo do have to be vigilant, I never engage with any cold caller. If it is someone I need to speak with, the bank for example, I call back using the number on my statement.

If I hear a delay before someone speaks I know it will be one of those calls. The moment I hear a foreign accent I hang up. Never in the world did I ever think I could become so rude.

I spend £2 a month on caller I D and its the best value for money for me. On my phone I have a separate ring for friends and family. I don't answer any 0800 numbers, no withheld, no international,no not available. If I get a call from abroad from friends I always ask them to speak straight to the answer phone as they know if I am there I will take their call immediately . For people who withhold their number, that is their choice, no matter who it is, but it is also my choice whether I ignore their call.
This saves me getting into conversations about insurance, debt, winning loadsa money, a trial period for the local paper, the list is endless. It may not work for everyone but for me it has proved useful.-Jle

Bought call blocker off ebay for £30 best value for money
I've ever spent.

Emma

This was covered again on the BBC lunchtime News. Apparently a retired headmaster nearly fell for a scam, but thought better of it at the last minute and didn't fall for it.

Problem is that you are caught off guard having been hit with the news that your PC is just about to self destruct.

Genealogy means spending a lot of time on your PC so I'd say its a lot to do with it.If it going to help anyone it's a good tip.


Marion

been there, got the teashirt, had one of those calls and from a call centre, the man was foreign and kept insisting that i turn on my computer. He rang back about 4 times and then gave up. Quite scary at the time, claimed he was from microsoft, didn't open my computer and didn't give him any details that he could use, so genes people beware i am in england. It was only about 6 weeks ago

I have just copied my thread from the General Topics board and I really don't know why I put it on there but this is what I wrote:

I received an email from Google UK to say that I had one 800,000 pounds in their lottery. It instructed me to fill out the necessary information in the attachment and email it back to them.

It looked very convincing and all the address information for Google UK was correct but given I live in Australia thought it must be a scam. I have just phoned Google here in Sydney and sure enough it is a scam but as i didn't open the attachment I don't know if there was a virus attached.

Now we run Norton's 360 with the highest security level available and normally nothing like this gets through so just be careful.

Annette isn't that Do not call register the best thing an Australian government has done in years. What a brilliant idea.

Gai

Apparently it doesn' work - never had cold calls before joining up with Do not Call list, now I get heaps.

Changing my server in the next week or so, as we are shifting to a new country.

Me too some times we have to be rude to safe guard our selfs

I think that your initial warning is about cold callers asking us to open the PC to them.

Its a bit like someone on the street asking could I use your cash card for a meal!!!

Yest it did, but the same applies to all types of cold calling - my response is always the same - don't engage with the caller.

I had a call yesterday purporting to be from a company who I bought ink cartridges from a year ago, offering me some discount if I gave them an order there and then. I said I was not interested. The call might have been genuine but I was not going to give an order and my card details over the phone just like that.

Yes GAI
the do not call is working great for me again.
Quiet tea times, and no interruptions from accents I cant understand.

It is the best govt thing as you say, but unfortunately cant say much good about the review of the Murry water scheme. Even though the HUme Dam is 100% full after the last torrent one weekend ago.
But
Its great to see all the birdlife back, and the crops are 3x better than recent harvests. Maybe we will be able to reduce our debt a bit.
Annette

I'm on the do not call register but lately I've been getting cold callers again, I'll check it out to see if I have to re register

I was once so rude to a guy and he called to say I was the rudest person he'd ever spoken to ... so I told him that I can be a lot ruder now **** Off! he never called back :-)