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Thread: Worms, BOTS and Virus stuff

  1. #1

    Default Worms, BOTS and Virus stuff

    Beware chaps the scammers are out in force at the moment.

    My wife fired up the main machine yesterday and there was much alarm beeping and flashing of the screen with "stop do not shut down" then "Ring your Microsoft consultant on 08 ######## for immediate assistance to free this machine for use" etc etc.

    Being a Pc user for many years, I cut the power immediately and an hour or so later she fired up again problem free. I am not sure if this was a worm or a virus but I am sure it was a scam. Had we rung that number we would have been treated to advice from a "Microsoft" employee asking us for our account details so that they could sell us an upgraded security package or whatever.

  2. #2

    Smile

    Yeah Gary, I had a similar one about 4 years ago but supposedly from my Virus Protection mob.
    I did the same thing--Shut down-wait & reboot. All gone so no more problem.

  3. #3

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    Yes chaps.
    They post among us. If I had believed half the dangerous things purported to be wrong with my computer, it would have been scrapped years ago. About the only thing that has not supposedly been wrong with it is the spontaneous combustion of the machine, which as we all know is the most likely danger with anything flown by me.
    I may have believed that one if I had seen it with my own eyes!

    Kyte.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  4. #4

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    It,s hard to know who to trust these day. If I do not know the I hang up or run a sercrity check on my PC

  5. #5

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    Seems like every day I'm getting scam calls about "your Amazon Prime account has been breached"... how I know they're BS: 1. they're all originating from numbers with a prefix that I know to be reserved for cellphone numbers (my own being in that block!) and 2. I don't have an Amazon Prime account at all.

    Then there's the ones calling about various auto insurance or vehicle warranty" things when I don't own a car... my poor Bulls*** Button is getting a workout lately, I may need to order another soon.
    Historical Consultant/Researcher, Wings and Sails lines - Unless stated otherwise, all comments are personal opinion only and NOT official Ares policy.
    Wings Checklists: WWI (down Navarre Nieuport, Ares Drachens) | WWII (complete)

  6. #6

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    yep. they never sleep. been loads of emails warning me my paypal account will be shut down if i dont respond immediately. im like; "oh. you mean the paypal account i DONT HAVE? that paypal account? oh my! what ever will i do?"

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by milcoll73 View Post
    yep. they never sleep. been loads of emails warning me my paypal account will be shut down if i dont respond immediately. im like; "oh. you mean the paypal account i DONT HAVE? that paypal account? oh my! what ever will i do?"
    I don't even tell 'em that, just *click*. Anything you tell them gives them a little more to steal your identity with.

    Man, I miss those old bakelite Western Electrics that mad a nice satisfying slam sound when you hung up on somebody... life's simple pleasures from a simpler time, which all these teenyboppers and twenty-to-thirtysomethings never had the chance to know.
    Historical Consultant/Researcher, Wings and Sails lines - Unless stated otherwise, all comments are personal opinion only and NOT official Ares policy.
    Wings Checklists: WWI (down Navarre Nieuport, Ares Drachens) | WWII (complete)

  8. #8

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    Report/Block/Delete. The easy ones are those that you don't have an account with, think we've all had several of them. Seen some convincing ones for TV licence, Car Tax, HMRC and such over here. The numbers never match of course. I mostly get these on my e-mail I don't use for business dealings so they stand out as fake straight away but on that other one the usual giveaways flag them up - hover over the sender's name an the real senders address pops up. Invariably nothing to do with the business they claim to be in. They never use your name (eg PayPal & banks always use their customer's name); anything with a link from the email is viewed with suspicion.

    "He is wise who watches"

  9. #9

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    And the "Sorry, you missed your delivery, please call this number to arrange another one" yea yea, and the beat goes on

  10. #10

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    The one about the TV licence got me laughing last year. Got this no paid junk, and had recieved my new licence the week before. Not even had time to file it away. it aint so much fun as junk mail though. A friend of mine collected several from different sources then put each junk mail in each other's buisness paid envelopes and sent them offf to the other firm. Much more fun than just putting the phone down.

    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  11. #11

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    I used to get Insurance Scam phone calls, but I don't any more.
    I think I know why....

    When I would receive a call about "your car accident" or whatever, I would be SO grateful "Oh, good, please hold on, I'll go and get my details."

    Having fetched my strident 120 decibel air horn, I'd check with them..."are you still there?" then I'd give 'em a good 10 seconds of continuous blast!

    None of those "companies" has ever called again.
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Helmut View Post
    I used to get Insurance Scam phone calls, but I don't any more.
    I think I know why....

    When I would receive a call about "your car accident" or whatever, I would be SO grateful "Oh, good, please hold on, I'll go and get my details."

    Having fetched my strident 120 decibel air horn, I'd check with them..."are you still there?" then I'd give 'em a good 10 seconds of continuous blast!

    None of those "companies" has ever called again.
    Now THAT is how to deal with them!

  13. #13

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    If I think there's a person on the other end—the vast majority these days are robo-calls—I usually answer the phone with the phrase, "Ph'nlui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'ngl fhtagn." I don't seem to get a lot of call-backs from people these days...

  14. #14

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    The phone call from the "Visa Security" org is fun. First question is, "Which bank issued this card?". Usually causes a long pause on the other end, as they scour their little brain to pick an apporopriate bank. There are too many to get it right.

    Oh, and I don't have a Visa card, either. But, the question will work for any credit card, I'm sure.

    I like the air horn thing, but would have to have ear defenders on at my end. And the headset/speakers on the other end are probably not set loud enough to really hurt.

    PS: I have started answering the phone with " Good morning", or "Good Evening" , instead of "Hello". A lot of robo calls key the router to a live operator when they recognize the "Hello". I occasionally get silence on the other end with the greeting, as the robo call device stalls, then disconnects.
    Last edited by OldGuy59; 05-26-2021 at 08:50.
    Mike
    "Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
    "Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59

  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by OldGuy59 View Post
    And the headset/speakers on the other end are probably not set loud enough to really hurt.
    Oh yes they are!
    I got the idea from a friend who worked in a call centre, and they had a couple of staff floored by a similar deafening blast.
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  16. #16

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    I like a nice, surly growl of "State your business!" myself.
    Historical Consultant/Researcher, Wings and Sails lines - Unless stated otherwise, all comments are personal opinion only and NOT official Ares policy.
    Wings Checklists: WWI (down Navarre Nieuport, Ares Drachens) | WWII (complete)

  17. #17

    Exclamation

    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    Report/Block/Delete. The easy ones are those that you don't have an account with, think we've all had several of them. Seen some convincing ones for TV licence, Car Tax, HMRC and such over here. The numbers never match of course. I mostly get these on my e-mail I don't use for business dealings so they stand out as fake straight away but on that other one the usual giveaways flag them up - hover over the sender's name an the real senders address pops up. Invariably nothing to do with the business they claim to be in. They never use your name (eg PayPal & banks always use their customer's name); anything with a link from the email is viewed with suspicion.
    Sound advice Dave! I always check the senders address it things look "off".
    Checking the supposed Amazon O/No also gives them away as it is never one Amazon have sent you.
    Sad there is noway to stop them but as Dave has said---Report/Block Sender/Delete!

  18. #18

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    My favourite for callers is asking them if their mother is proud of what they do for a living...

  19. #19

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    Nice one Baz, funnily enough the word OFF also features for me, being it makes up 50% of my response.

    Although I do remember when we used to get scam calls come through at work and we had a long running competition on who could keep the caller talking the longest before forcing them to hang up, there was one chap who could keep them dangling for over 20 minutes. The callers frustration was often hysterical.. especially when on speaker phone for us all to hear....

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hedeby View Post
    and we had a long running competition on who could keep the caller talking the longest before forcing them to hang up, there was one chap who could keep them dangling for over 20 minutes.
    Years ago, my work-from-home flatmate, who had become heartily sick of God-botherers knocking on the door all day, claimed to have invited one in, to have him answer " several questions" about religion, and kept him talking for two hours, before revealing that he had no interest, and was deliberately wasting the dumbass's time!
    Wish I'd been there to see it!
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  21. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by Diamondback View Post
    I don't even tell 'em that, just *click*. Anything you tell them gives them a little more to steal your identity with.

    Man, I miss those old bakelite Western Electrics that mad a nice satisfying slam sound when you hung up on somebody... life's simple pleasures from a simpler time, which all these teenyboppers and twenty-to-thirtysomethings never had the chance to know.



    i didnt actually respond to the spoof emails (other then to forward them to actual paypal that is). thats just what i yelled at the screen when they popped up before i devolved into a fit of laughing for the next 15 minutes!!!

  22. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by flash View Post
    Report/Block/Delete. The easy ones are those that you don't have an account with, think we've all had several of them. Seen some convincing ones for TV licence, Car Tax, HMRC and such over here. The numbers never match of course. I mostly get these on my e-mail I don't use for business dealings so they stand out as fake straight away but on that other one the usual giveaways flag them up - hover over the sender's name an the real senders address pops up. Invariably nothing to do with the business they claim to be in. They never use your name (eg PayPal & banks always use their customer's name); anything with a link from the email is viewed with suspicion.


    usually you can tell by the gobbledygook url that bears little or no relationship to the actual entity mentioned in the subject line.

  23. #23

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    my buddy max takes the calls and strings the scammers along until they get pissed off and hang up on him lol!!!! its quite entertaining. my favorite is when on aisian sounding fellow ended the call with "fukka u as hoe"

  24. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by milcoll73 View Post
    ...................when on aisian sounding fellow ended the call with "fukka u as hoe"
    Love it!

    I never managed to get as good a response when I used to string them along.
    The best I got was a caller with a heavy Indian accent claiming to be from Microsoft, and wanting to help me speed up my terribly slow computer.
    I told him I would be happy to collaborate with him - as soon as he gave me his work address.
    <<What address?>>
    The address where you work.
    <<I don't understand...>>
    You said you work for Microsoft - are you in their main building in Silicone Valley, in California?
    <<Yes.>>
    What is the address of the building?
    <<Please just start your computer...>>
    What's the matter, don't you know the address of the building where you work?
    <<Start your computer now>>
    I can't believe you don't know where you work! How did you get there?
    <<Stupid man! You are stupid man!>>
    No, you're the stupid man, so stupid that I have kept you talking long enough for the Mumbai Police to have traced your call - they'll be with you in about 15 minutes...
    <<->>
    Hello? Hello?
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  25. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Helmut View Post
    Years ago, my work-from-home flatmate, who had become heartily sick of God-botherers knocking on the door all day, claimed to have invited one in, to have him answer " several questions" about religion, and kept him talking for two hours, before revealing that he had no interest, and was deliberately wasting the dumbass's time!
    Wish I'd been there to see it!
    Back in my university days we used to get a lot of visits from Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nice folk mostly but it became quite frustrating. My dad’s answer was to put his clerical dog collar on before opening the door, that threw them. However not having that option at my house I was looking for a way to politely deter them from repeatedly trying to save my soul. Then one day they turned up in the middle of a D&D session and one of my friends said “leave this to me, I have something that NEVER fails, I can guarantee they will never knock on your door again”.... with that he stood up, stripped stark bollock naked went to the front door opened it and said “we were just getting started” and promptly and politely invited them in... never saw them again...

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!

  26. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flying Helmut View Post
    Years ago, my work-from-home flatmate, who had become heartily sick of God-botherers knocking on the door all day, claimed to have invited one in, to have him answer " several questions" about religion, and kept him talking for two hours, before revealing that he had no interest, and was deliberately wasting the dumbass's time!
    Wish I'd been there to see it!




    we had something similar back in the day. we were playing our regular d&d campaign (over at my buddy maxs) when a couple of jehovahs witnesses showed up. we revealed we were playing d&d (this was back when the game was thought to be demonic lol) and invited them in to join us. for some reason they declined and left swiftly never to return lol.

  27. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hedeby View Post
    Back in my university days we used to get a lot of visits from Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nice folk mostly but it became quite frustrating. My dad’s answer was to put his clerical dog collar on before opening the door, that threw them. However not having that option at my house I was looking for a way to politely deter them from repeatedly trying to save my soul. Then one day they turned up in the middle of a D&D session and one of my friends said “leave this to me, I have something that NEVER fails, I can guarantee they will never knock on your door again”.... with that he stood up, stripped stark bollock naked went to the front door opened it and said “we were just getting started” and promptly and politely invited them in... never saw them again...





    well, that certainly trumps our groups simple invite to join us lol. id make a comment about the unlikelihood of t our identical d&d vs visits situations, but, dividing the number of d&d players by the number of religious doorknockers, it probably happens on a regular basis lol.

  28. #28

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    This thread has degenerated into something else!

    Attempting to damage someone's hearing is not a good thing to do. People who work in call centres are actually making a living in contrast to some who have not worked and have not intention to work ever. I was glad enough to work in one for six months or so when my kids were young and I was otherwise unemployed. Freedom of religion of religion is also one of our fundamental beliefs in the western nations, so we should tolerate or discourage door knockers softly. Similarly it should not matter if one is Asian or African or anything else.

  29. #29

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    "Good morning and thank you for calling Human Sacrifice Inc., shall I transfer you to the Volunteers Department?" *here you play ominous chanting and a bloodcurdling scream in the background*
    Last edited by Diamondback; 06-05-2021 at 01:26.
    Historical Consultant/Researcher, Wings and Sails lines - Unless stated otherwise, all comments are personal opinion only and NOT official Ares policy.
    Wings Checklists: WWI (down Navarre Nieuport, Ares Drachens) | WWII (complete)

  30. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by Baxter View Post
    This thread has degenerated into something else!

    Attempting to damage someone's hearing is not a good thing to do. People who work in call centres are actually making a living in contrast to some who have not worked and have not intention to work ever. I was glad enough to work in one for six months or so when my kids were young and I was otherwise unemployed. Freedom of religion of religion is also one of our fundamental beliefs in the western nations, so we should tolerate or discourage door knockers softly. Similarly it should not matter if one is Asian or African or anything else.
    Telephone scammers -
    "Hello ?"
    "My name is Jon from Telstra, we are.."
    "This is microsoft technical support, how can I help you?
    "My name is Jon from.."
    "Microsoft technical support, how can I help you Jon?"
    Etc.

    JWs and Mormons - offer drinks of water or fruit juice, offer them bathroom facilities, then ask them to explain Judges 19-21.

  31. #31

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    Well I put my foot into that one! I meant genuine unsolicited and presumably unwanted sales calls not scammers of course.

  32. #32

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    Having read these posts, if we could keep the religious and racial aspect out of it from now on it would comply better with the site rules.

    Thanks. Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  33. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by Baxter View Post
    This thread has degenerated into something else!

    Attempting to damage someone's hearing is not a good thing to do. People who work in call centres are actually making a living in contrast to some who have not worked and have not intention to work ever. I was glad enough to work in one for six months or so when my kids were young and I was otherwise unemployed. Freedom of religion of religion is also one of our fundamental beliefs in the western nations, so we should tolerate or discourage door knockers softly. Similarly it should not matter if one is Asian or African or anything else.


    it wasnt their religion we had a problem with. it was their pushiness. when door knockers were polite. i was polite. when they were pushy (ie impolite) i wasnt. simple as........

  34. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by Baxter View Post
    This thread has degenerated into something else!

    Attempting to damage someone's hearing is not a good thing to do. People who work in call centres are actually making a living in contrast to some who have not worked and have not intention to work ever. I was glad enough to work in one for six months or so when my kids were young and I was otherwise unemployed. Freedom of religion of religion is also one of our fundamental beliefs in the western nations, so we should tolerate or discourage door knockers softly. Similarly it should not matter if one is Asian or African or anything else.
    Context is everything.

    These scam callers are NOT legitimately trying to make a living by legal means; cold-calling is ILLEGAL in the UK, these are Criminals.
    They are not employed in legitimate business call-centres, with Codes of Conduct, Customer Care documentation, Licences to operate and the agreement of the people they contact; they are sitting at a shabby trestle table in a dilapidated run-down warehouse, "working" for 'Big Al' and 'Smasher'.
    Attempting to damage their hearing is absolutely the right thing to do!
    These gits prey upon the vulnerable, especially the elderly, and the fewer of them who have adequate hearing to do so, the better!

    When a criminal scumbag breaks into my house to steal from me, I will visit as much harm as possible upon him, with the cricket bat I keep for just such a purpose.
    When a criminal scumbag cold-calls me (ILLEGAL) to steal from me, a cricket bat is less than useless, so I will use whatever means I can (Airhorn) to inflict harm upon him.

    There is no NO DIFFERENCE.

    Legitimate call-centres contact those people with whom there is an agreement in place for that person to be contacted by phone - no Airhorn use in such cases.


    Freedom of religion is not in question here - the point, which you have obviously missed, is that the almost impenetrable SubContinent accent used was utterly incompatible with the lies the scammer was attempting to peddle, thus making his pathetic attempt even more stupid than he was.

    The was NO racial context:
    nothing derogatory
    nothing degrading
    nothing defamatory
    nothing by negative comparison.

    I will always respect the rights/opinions/beliefs of others, but I will always reserve the right to politely disagree with them.

    I will not alter, withdraw or apologise for what I have posted, since there is absolutely nothing wrong within it, and it is absolutely not in breach or conflict with any or all site Rules, for the many reasons listed above.

    Pontificate about your own lifestyle all you wish, but please do not attempt to criticise or modify how I live mine.

    Thank you.

    The End.
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  35. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by Baxter View Post
    ...Freedom of religion is also one of our fundamental beliefs in the western nations, so we should tolerate or discourage door knockers softly..
    I've had relatives awoken at 06.00 hours one weekend by incessant door knocking - concerned something urgent had happened to the family he threw open the door....
    After deliberation over a pint that evening we concluded telling the Witness to 'f**k right off' was a reasonably restrained and legitimate response under the circumstances.

    "He is wise who watches"

  36. #36

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    Sorry if I have upset anyone. Just trying to do my job in a friendly way which would not offend.
    I can promise you that it won't happen again.

    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  37. #37

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    No Rob, you are as ever the voice of calm reason and adherence to our rules.
    Think we have strayed too far away from the intended thread topic.
    It is obviously a topic which affects and annoys a lot of people.
    Probably best we leave such passionate discussions to other sites/forums.

    However if anyone becomes aware of a new scam it is always worth sharing to hopefully prevent another from being caught out... some of them are worryingly believable.

    Never Knowingly Undergunned !!



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