Beware the long-running slow internet scam
QI’VE just been phoned – on a very bad quality line – by someone called James who said he worked for BT in Bradford and that he was phoning about my internet.
He claimed it was running very slowly. But I don’t have a BT line, and, as far as I can see, my laptop and all the other devices I’ve got at home are working well. So I ignored him.
Is this anything to do with the attack on the NHS computer system? Laura P
A
THIS has nothing to do with BT or Bradford, while James is a pretend name. Nor has it anything to do with the ransom-ware attack on hospital computers a week ago.
Instead, this is a long running scam that Which? has warned about previously and, sadly, will probably do again in the future.
What happens is that the caller claims “we’ve had reports from our data that some junk and malicious files are causing your internet to run slow so we’ve had a look at it and we are warning you that your computer is in danger” or similar words.
The caller will reassure you that “this is not a sales call but instead it’s a service check call so your computer runs better.”
Callers used to claim links to Microsoft. Now they say they are from a big UK internet service provider such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk or Virgin. Scam firms are most likely to find someone who is one of their customers.
It’s all guesswork for them with the hope they hit on someone, perhaps a vulnerable person who believes them. They can make several hundred calls a day.
They want you to turn on your machine. Then they will get you to download remote access software – this is used legitimately by computer engineers.
This enables them to take control of your laptop, so it’s easy then to infect your computer with a virus or other malware which will “prove their point” about your problems.
At this point, they demand cash – usually £250 to £300 – for a “repair”. When you pay, they remove the malware although some will push it further and demand more for a “second thorough cleaning”.
No legitimate company calls like this. No legitimate company could claim to know your computer has problems.
Just put the phone down. As you did.