OT Nearly got scammed ...

I have a stupid neighbour and I am always finding he has been scammed, gets paranoid, changes all his passwords and then cant get any emåil or wifi. That because he insists on being on BT.

When ever I get a phone call from 'BT ' 'about my internet' i tell them I am not on BT so f*ck off

Not having a landline solves so many problems.

Perhaps jimmy shagged her mother?

bound to have been

I need one for my modem.

I was running RISC OS, as i am now.

Well full marks for rarity, I don't think everything I need is on RISCOS, sadly...

Do you need to answer it by hand ?

Agreed; I also have a Windows10 Desktop. 2 Windows 10 laptops which can run Virtual Acorn, a RISC OS laptop (used for society accounts) and an iPad Pro on which I keep 'sheet' music.

All my DTP work is done on RISC OS. Laptops were originally for taking proofs to 'customers' and, if necesssary, amending on the spot.

what sort of intelligent person believes random caller that says "your computer is running slowly"

How are they supposed to know this?

do they have a camera installed in your house watching you, or something?

(i) mostly unintelligent people (ii) or supposedly intelligent people who haven't a clue how *anything* works *at all* (C.f. 'Art Students').

Don't need that. traffic analysis can give you a clue actually.

your router has reported this, of course

but that's a fault within their network

not with my computer

There are a lot of unintelligent people and intelligent ones that know little about computers.

Lots of people know that Windows reports all sorts of things back to Microsoft and when they get a call from "Microsoft Support" they think it's real.

problem is fecking Virgin media is slow even when a speed test says otherwise.....

Because the scammers are adaptive. They know that people see the news about online threats, so they just play up that aspect of their pretext.

If they can convince you they are your bank and they have managed to identify a scam in progress, the background knowledge can actually help them make the argument.

Of course and try to stay 'one step ahead' etc.

But we have the 'don't give your bank / credit card details / PIN / password to anyone who phones *you* rule that should deal with a fair percentage of the scammers. Then you have the 'don't give anyone (unknown / untrusted) remote access to your PC' group? Then you get the bogus delivery type.

Sure, but so easily thwarted by hanging up and *phoning them* on a number you have or find (bill / Internet), not that they give you, on another line if you distrust the dialtone.

But hey, given the amount of bank details I've seen blowing about from fly-tipped household waste I'm not sure you would need to actually bother the account holders at all! (And yet another example of how some people seem ignorant of the advice and so risks (identity fraud etc))? ;-(

Straight cut shredders anyone?

Cheers, T i m

but I have to put in my banking stuff manually...???

Nope, it can often be with your computer.

Wrong, as always.