Very useful.
I didn’t know about the 7726 (spam) system!
I assume that all network operators use the same system.
Just checked that out and it seems all* the mobile providers can be reached on that number.
Despite whatever provider you are with notifications will be noted so that scam numbers being
used can be taken out.
[SIZE=“1”]*Except Vodaphone it seems from the information on the second link which states
“Those with Vodafone should send junk texts to 87726.”[/SIZE]
This is really useful Baz. Thanks and will deffo use it from now on.
Strange that it’s not well publicised. After all, there are a fair few TV programs about scams and spams, and none of these have (to my knowledge) highlighted 7726.
That number was given out on the ‘Morning Live’ programme on BBC1 the other day, it was Rav Wilding (ex-police) who gave it out. Until then I had never heard of it either. Then on seeing a news item about it I thought it might be useful to post on here so that others are aware of it.
There is so much of this scamming happening that it’s getting overwhelming. I know that I was getting so many telephone calls that the only answer (excuse pun) to this was never to answer the landline immediately, but to use the answering machine. Now I have given the landline over to the scammers, they can have it and chat to my answering machine, I use my mobile only for calls. That now has also started receiving both scam calls and texts, they are instantly blocked as that’s easier on a mobile.
Why do we have to put up with this daily interference in our lives, surely someone must be able to do something to put a stop to it? :shock: 
Note: Edited to correct TV programme title.
What do you make of this then?
From: Windows email@engage.windows.com
and this is the entire message, no logo, nothing to click on except at the bottom: Unsubscribe … etc
1 You can meet with anyone in a 1:1 call and speak up to 24 hours for free. For a group call (more than two people), you can meet with up to 100 participants and call up to 60 mins for free. We are waiving these limits in light of COVID-19 so that you can meet with up to 300 participants and speak up to 24 hours for free until further specified.
Unsubscribe | Privacy Statement | View as webpage
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052
Personally I would be very wary, any or all of those three links at the bottom could be a link that takes you further on and perhaps into a scam situation.
Meet up in a 1:1 call FREE for up to 24 hours – too good to be true perhaps?
Why would an organisation like Microsoft enter into something like this without publicising it more widely? No logo either, very dodgy I reckon. 
Yeet another scam to be aware of.
Again from my fraud alert people:
" Just 15% of people have heard of a ‘ghost broker’.* Do you know what one is?
Have you ever heard of a ‘ghost broker’? No, we are not talking about things that go bump in the night – this is a lot scarier.
‘Ghost brokers’ are fraudsters who sell fake or invalid car insurance policies. Victims are sold fake insurance documents for a policy that does not exist, or for a genuine policy that has been set up using false details to lower the price of the premium.
How do ‘ghost brokers’ operate?
Fraudsters lure victims in with the offer of cheaper insurance premiums, usually via social media or by word-of-mouth. These individuals or groups pose as middlemen for well-known insurance companies, claiming they can offer you legitimate car insurance at a significantly cheaper price.
This type of fraud is typically carried out either by forging insurance documents, falsifying your details to bring the price down, or by taking out a genuine policy for you but cancelling it soon after.
Often, the victim is not aware that they have been scammed until they are involved in an accident and try to claim on the policy."
Something new, automated message to my mobile about fraudulent use of my NI number, of course I hung up.
I have just had a call from “Sky” (I’m not with Sky) about my broadband connection and the person wanted to know when I had last checked my Internet speeds. When I said I wasn’t with Sky, they suddenly changed company to Virgin Media. I said I wasn’t with them either, so they went with BT…Anyway, upshot is they wanted to check cookies and error files remotely on my computer to see which ones were causing “problems” with my connection. I just hung up. They didn’t call me by name, just “Ma’am”.
I’ve just had a call from a very nice (Indian sounding) man from ‘Virgin Media’, who wanted to warn me that my internet connection is suffering from a fault.
He went through the usual procedure: Are you on the computer? Are you connected to Virgin Media? etc, etc.
The next step was for me to press the Windows key and R.
However, before that I told him that I need to ask him a security question, and asked him to tell me my Virgin account number.
Oh, sorry sir, our systems have changed and in order to do that I need your Virgin registration number.
OK.
To do that, sir, I must ask you to press the Windows key and R.
So I told him that I know my registration number and asked him to tell it to me.
Surprisingly, he reeled off an alphanumeric number, of which I have no idea whether correct or not, but I responded that “no, that number is incorrect”.
That was about it and he decided to give it up, but not before calling me
a fing c. :shock:
Quite a good English response, I thought, for an Indian chap.
Ooooerrr! that was rude of him! Wonder if that was part of his training? :twisted:
Good technique there JBR.
You could have asked him how he got hold of your password though;-)
Anyway, JBR, this is a description of how the scam might evolve. Don’t click on it since the site seems to have a load of popups which makes it irritating to plough through. I’ll paste the important bit:
The scammers don’t expect you to take it at their word; they are willing to show proof that your computer has been hacked. They instruct you to press the Windows key and R to bring up the Run box on your system, and to enter commands to open Windows Event Viewer. The caller notes how many errors are listed (most of which are harmless) and uses the list as proof the computer is compromised. “Jake” walked me through finding my unique computer ID using the command line.
“Jake” sounded genuinely horrified when I told her how many errors were in Windows Event Viewer: “This is the worst I’ve ever seen!” I burst out laughing. Needless to say, she hung up immediately.
Once the victim has been convinced there is a problem, the hard part is done. Depending on the scam, the caller tries to talk you into installing remote software, such as TeamViewer or AMMYY, onto your computer, or they direct you to a website to download software that would supposedly fix the problems. The remote control software can be used by the attacker to steal data, download malware, and further compromise the system.
To avail myself of their help, I would have to hand over my credit card number and pay anywhere from $49 to $500. I never got past this step, though.
Well I had managed to waste over 20 minutes of his time.
If I have nothing better to do, I enjoy this sort of game.
The secret is to keep them talking, and the best way to do that is to feign innocence and naivety.
That’s the first time I’ve had such an explicit comment from them though. Perhaps he’d had a bad day, and it was only ten in the morning.
I have not had any scam calls for a few days now. I wonder if they have given up on me?
Thanks. He didn’t need any password. He just telephoned on the off chance, as they do. In fact, they normally claim to be from BT.
Thanks.
Yes, pressing Windows + R is a bit of a give away.
I wasn’t too sure what they can access by doing that, but I am aware that it’s a doorway into my computer settings.
No access to your computer can be had by doing that. They’re just trying to panic the gullible who might get scared seeing a load of harmless error logs coming up on screen. It’s their way of catching your attention and luring you in.
The password quip I was trying to make, unsuccessfully:blush:, was that your password is effing c.
Perhaps he thought he was talking to me. I called him that a few days ago.
Ah. That explains it. I thought he was such a nice man until he was influenced by you!