The risk of aid from dial-up computer resides on, unknown

A friend received a phone call out of the Blue yesterday from one company claimed that her computer showed a number of problems, as they would be able to solve externally. My friend, do not know much about computers, and were persuaded to part with £ 200 for a four-year contract, giving the company access to her machine to fix any problems. She told me she was excited to see her pointer, move around on the screen "all in itself", which seems to indicate the company, had in fact obtained control over her computer. I looked up company on the net, and they seem to have a solid based action in the company since 2007 with a money-back guarantee. Two questions: how to get her phone number and know that she was a computer user? And safe letting everyone has access to your computer via remote access is not a good idea. They can be in resolving problems, but what is to stop them during a rummage around your private information while they work there?
Robin O'Connor

You mention not the name of the company or the Web site address, but I would be worried, and I strongly recommend to carry out additional checks. Although the UK's advertising standards authority (ASA) now have the power to police the placing on the market on the Internet – which, from 1. March – it will not have much if any impact on Web sites that are not controlled by UK businesses. Requirements, the company has been undertaking since 2007 and offers a money-back guarantee may not work correctly. Spelling errors and bad grammar often gives away scam sites, but even a fixed appearance of the site is no guarantee, because design could easily be stolen from a well-established company.

In response to a question on the Unwanted support calls in 2009, I pointed out that: "there is nothing fundamentally wrong with Remote support: it is a service Windowsbuilt in, and is provided by, for example the very reputable Geek Squad in the United Kingdom." However, I also warned against companies "cold calling", possibly from India, which "may seem to suggest the Microsoftare calling from, but they are not".

These companies argue that there is something wrong with your PC and offers to fix it via remote access. When your PC does not have anything wrong with it as they know (they do the same offerings for Mac and Linux users), and they are actually not solve anything, it is equivalent to fraud. They can install legitimate anti-virus software, but they could just as easily be installed "backdoor" programs to collect personal information or malwareinstall. As you say, brings this personal data at risk.

Ask: "how to get her phone number and know that she was a computer user?" I suspect they got her phone number from the leaked data sold cheaply on the black market, or leaked from an Indian call center, even if they could work from phone books. Today, the majority of UK home at least one Windows PC so that it would take many calls to find the potential victim.

Regardless of this "cold calls" approach has grown dramatically in the past 18 months, with scammers often offer Windows services. (Other pitches seem to include replacement Sky boxes and Dyson maintenance). We have covered the story in depth, and I recommend that you get your friend to read at least two of Charles Arthur excellent reports: Virus phone scam run from call centers in India (July 18, 2010) and ' Microsoft support center» fraud continuesand worse takes strike (1 March 2011). Ask her if anything in them, sounds familiar. Microsoft absolutely will not phone someone out of the blue, and reputable computer service companies not "cold call" home users, so I suspect it will.

If your friend has been scammed, she could test the company's money-back guarantee. (The United Kingdom distance selling regulations gives at least a 7-day cooling off period, if applicable.) But often the best approach is to contact the issuer's credit card and get the transaction reversed. This may involve getting some crime from her local police station. Cancellation charges affects on credit card suppliers and makes them less likely to treat the companies set up by scammers.

She should also report what happened to the Action fraud, the UK's national fraud reporting centre, if only to get the sum added £ 4bn from British citizens, according to the deception national fraud authority (NFA) estimates. Your friend can call action fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use fraud reporting form on its website.

Unfortunately, but perhaps understandably "Windows service" scam does not seem to be a high priority on action fraud: this is probably a small proportion of the £ 38bn loss just announced in the annual indicator of fraud. However, search its website an advisory note from 10 November 2010, with the headline identity theft scam warnings. It says: "people are being warned to look-out fraud for aim to trick them into divulging their personal information, after an increase in the number of complaints to consumer direct and Trading standards."

Consumer direct and trade standards has also reported a recent increase in complaints about a scam using Microsoft's name, targeting internet users. Victims receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft. The customer is directed to a Web site, allows remote access to the caller of the client computer. The fraudster then appears to make a number of "fixes" to their computer. In fact, we give you private access to the victim's personal information, often by installing malware. This personal information can again be used to commit fraud.

If all of the reported trials on "Windows service" fraud – and there must be thousands of people every day – that would raise its profile.

Sorry to say, as things stand, I can not see anything affecting the few hundred people, who are sitting in an Indian call center, using the internet connections to call UK numbers with negligible costs and sell unwanted services. Still, tell all your friends. The calls stop when everyone knows it is a scam and they cannot get any gifts, although I expect that they should just switch to another scam instead.

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