I had a call from a so called Microsoft windows person who told me my computer was infected with viruses and that it would close down inside 3 / 4 days and that it was running very slowly. He kept me on the line for well over 20 / 25 mins in which time he had gained access to my computer ( very very convincing) - I then became suspicious when my mouse started moving about the screen and I started x ing out of other boxes which they kept asking me to view and asking me to count the problems I had. This was irritating them and I could hear it in the voices - I let it go for too long and would advise anyone with a similar call just to drop the phone and don't get involved, I got a tel no from him asking him to allow me to ring him back - Guess what I could not get through and after contacting my tech support friend they told me this was a scam. This was a really bad experience and would want to alert anyone else out there who might fall foul of this trap.
Cybercriminals don't just send fraudulent email messages and set up fake websites. They might also call you on the telephone and claim to be from Microsoft. They might offer to help solve your computer problems or sell you a software license. Once they have access to your computer, they can do the following:
Trick you into installing malicious software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords. They might also then charge you to remove this software.
Take control of your computer remotely and adjust settings to leave your computer vulnerable.
Request credit card information so they can bill you for phony services.
Direct you to fraudulent websites and ask you to enter credit card and other personal or financial information there.
Neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes.
Cybercriminals often use publicly available phone directories so they might know your name and other personal information when they call you. They might even guess what operating system you're using.
Once they've gained your trust, they might ask for your user name and password or ask you to go to a website to install software that will let them access your computer to fix it. Once you do this, your computer and your personal information is vulnerable.
Do not trust unsolicited calls. Do not provide any personal information.
Here are some of the organizations that cybercriminals claim to be from:
Windows Helpdesk
Windows Service Center
Microsoft Tech Support
Microsoft Support
Windows Technical Department Support Group
Microsoft Research and Development Team (Microsoft R & D Team)
If someone claiming to be from Microsoft tech support calls you:
Do not purchase any software or services.
Ask if there is a fee or subscription associated with the "service." If there is, hang up.
Never give control of your computer to a third party unless you can confirm that it is a legitimate representative of a computer support team with whom you are already a customer.
Take the caller's information down and immediately report it to your local authorities.
Never provide your credit card or financial information to someone claiming to be from Microsoft tech support.
If you think that you might have downloaded malware from a phone tech support scam website or allowed a cybercriminal to access your computer, take these steps:
Change your computer's password, change the password on your main email account, and change the password for any financial accounts, especially your bank and credit card.
Scan your computer with the Microsoft Safety Scanner to find out if you have malware installed on your computer.
Install Microsoft Security Essentials. (Microsoft Security Essentials is a free program. If someone calls you to install this product and then charge you for it, this is also a scam.)
Note: In Windows 8, Windows Defender replaces Microsoft Security Essentials. Windows Defender runs in the background and notifies you when you need to take specific action. However, you can use it anytime to scan for malware if your computer isn’t working properly or you clicked a suspicious link online or in an email message.
Another thing the scammers can do is read your on-line banking files. And they can leave software that lets them read everything you do on the computer. If you do on-line banking or bill payment you need to get your account numbers changed.
The advice Alfalfa gave you is very good. If you aren't comfortable cleaning out the stuff the scammer put in your computer take the tower to a reputable local computer repair place and pay them to clean it out for you.
Received a text message from this number claiming to be a company called Giromex
The text said I wanted to join them and to confirm reply yes. I have never even heard of them