I treat them all the same, no favouritism. 
You mean you call them all Fâ Câ, even the nice ones? :shock:
I havenât spoken to any nice scammers as yet? :-p
Iâve noticed how nice they are at first when offering to help with putting my computer right.
Then when they realise theyâve been sussed out they turn all nasty! 
This always seems to happen, after theyâve been going on about Windows and all the problems
I am having with that and the internet, when I inform them I use Apple Macs! 
Thatâs because you are wasting their time and time is money.
I know but itâs good fun when otherwise thereâs nothing much going on. Now retired my time is free so I make sure I string them along for as long as possible! All thatâs missing is the ability to see the looks on their faces just as they realise itâs them who have been taken for a ride!
And so you (we) should.
After all, theyâre trying to make money by taking advantage of us. In fact, what they do could be to our serious disadvantage!
Amazon Prime Scam!
If you get an email saying that your Amazon Account has been placed on hold because your âbilling Informationâ did not match the âinformation on file with the card issuerâ, youâll probably see the usual suggested Button to press!
Apparently has spelling mistakes, like the word âcanceledâ instead of âcancelledâ, etc.
Itâs a scam!
Readers may find it hard to believe this but there are reports of âFake Versions of Windows 11 coming with malwareâ
Kaspersky are saying that, thousands of computers (yes thousands!) have been infected after people searched online for ways to download the new operating system.
âSome victims have downloaded 1.75GB files that when open show what looks to be a genuine instruction for installing.â
If you go that way you get adware dumped all over your pc.
The only safe way to get genuine version is to get the W11 beta version.(released 29 July) - youâd have, also, to be in the Insider Program Group.
I am fortunate in that I have the policy of not âupgradingâ Windows 10 at least until a long period has passed to show whether there are any problems with the update.
For the same reason, I can see no possibility of me âupgradingâ to Windows 11 either. âIf it ainât broke, donât fix itâ, is my motto!
Understood, JBR!
Another new scam (to me, anyway) relates to Office 365 & Microsoft 365 users.
Apparently, scammers are sending emails, to users of those packages, in an attempt to trick them into phoning a help centre, which is staffed by hackers.
They start by email saying your free trial, or subscription. is about to end, and your credit card will soon be charged,for the full amount.
What they are trying to get you to do is phone as number, rather than click a link or download an attachment.
When you ring, a skilled scammer âhelps youâ cancel the transaction.(you end up with ransomware)
You can read about this online - I got it from a Computer Magazine, dated this month.
Windows 11 has not been released yet and wont be till the end of 2021
This from an article dated early August:-
âMore people have downloaded the early preview builds of Windows 11 than previous issues of Windows.
Microsoft has claimed. Boss Satya Nadella describes it as âthe beginning of a Windows Revolutionâ.
Analysts say it is already running on one percent of Windows Computers worldwide. This number will rise quickly now that the beta version is ready to install.â
The real problem with scam calls now is the fact that the automated systems they use to make them are so good. I had a call from one a few weeks ago, saying they were a government loft insulation department. Being naturally suspicious, I asked a few questions, which were answered appropriately. until I asked why a government department had allowed someone to make these calls without the appropriate training. Sorry, I am new. And not trained properly. Sorry, I am new. What about training? Were you not trained. I got a mechanical stutter & a inappropriate answer.
These systems are so good, that dodgy people can make 1000âs of calls all by themselves now.
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Scammers - A Bit of Help at Last?
You can now (or will soon be able to) call 159 if you think you are getting a scam call.
This in Which:-
"A new fraud hotline will let you check whether a call from your bank is genuine, as the industry battles against unprecedented levels of authorised fraud. Stop Scams UK and the Global Cyber Alliance have launched the â159â pilot scheme with backing from major banks and technology firms, including BT and Google. The hotline is designed to disrupt impersonation scammers who pose as banks or other firms to trick customers into sending them money â known as bank transfer or authorised push payment (APP) scams. The latest industry figures show that although purchase scams account for 49% of all APP cases, fraud involving impersonation of banks or the police spiked by 129% in the first half of 2021. A dedicated phone number for anti-fraud checks could be effective, says Which?. But will banks use this to justify even lower reimbursement rates?"
So, along the same lines as calling 999, or 111, we, now, have a line set up by an industry body called "Stop Scams UK & supported by Financial & Ofcom.
The big Banks are all signing up.
Ringing 159, you get a choice of banks, by pressing numbers, and youâll be able to chose your Bank service Department.
Martin Lewis is a bit worried, as he thinks that scammers might spoof this 159 number & do what they do.
To get round this, he suggests that you call 159 on a different phone to the one the scam comes in on. That stops scammers giving you fake calling tones & replies.
Itâs all on trial for the next 12 months, you might be interested in looking it up on the web.
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Microsoft Edge Updates - Not!
Our friendly scammers are tricking people by downloading fake updates for Microsoft Edge.
These updates trigger ransomware on your PC which locks up until you pay a couple of thousand dollars.
The scam says that you are âusing an older version of Edgeâ and suggests you click a button to get the fix!
There is, apparently, a good clue that it is a scam, because, in the notification it sends you, which looks very professional, there are two âpop up message boxesâ which are written in Korean, rather than English!
That little hitch might have been fixed, by the scammers, before you read this.
Just remember that Edge is always updated automatically.
i.e. they NEVER ask you to download an update!
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Thanks. Useful thing to know as I use Edge.
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I just had an enjoyable 15 minutes with a scam that was telling me that my internet is having problems. (Itâs not).
Itâs only that I have not a lot to do at the moment so for me it is entertaining.
First i deny that I donât have a PC or laptop, and only have an iPad and phone. The get me to download an app on the AppStore. Which I donât do but I know the one and give them a 9 number code. (Use the same one every time.) now they are getting confused. I start asking for details of my internet provider, which they canât tell me. At last they realise that I am playing with them.
They say that they have my number and will be reporting me to the police.
I reply that I have their number and will be reporting them to OFFCOM as they are scamming Barstuards. Good game.
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