It’s official – the Queensland state Police have investigated complaints and found the Support On Click offering is a scam (when they call and pretend to be Microsoft). Here is the official press release, with a link to the police website: http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+and+Alerts/Media+Releases/2009/04/New+scam+targets+computer+users.htm
The Queensland Police Service has issued a warning about a new scam targeting computer users.
The scam involves people taking a call from a person working at a foreign call centre. The victim receives a call from the offender, who claims to belong to a software support company that has been requested by Microsoft to fix problems on the victim’s computer.
The offender confirms the victim’s computer has sent error messages to Microsoft regarding problems with their Windows Explorer.
The offender will then direct the victim through a process on their computer ultimately giving the offender remote access to the computer to download Trojans or gain access to personal information.
Once the offender has gained access, they will then give or sell the victim software in order to prevent this problem in the future. The victim, instead of downloading anti-virus software, will unknowingly be installing a virus on their computer which may be used to gather credit card data.
Ms Julie Inman Grant, Asia-Pacific Director for Internet Safety for Microsoft, confirmed that the company is not contacting its customers in regards to the matter and has advised computer users to exercise caution.
“Microsoft will never cold-call a customer and request access to their computer system. Nor do we direct third-party support companies to do so,” said Ms Inman Grant.
“In this case, the callers are misrepresenting that they are from Microsoft when in fact they are not,” she said.
Detective Superintendent Brian Hay of the State Crime Operations Command Fraud and Corporate Crime Group said this new scam was just another example of offenders preying on the vulnerabilities of victims.
“This scam has the potential to work, as the victim may let down their guard when told by the offender they have specific knowledge of error messages on their system. This gives the victim confidence in the caller, which in turn opens the door to fraud,” Detective Superintendent Hay said.
Members of the community are reminded to do their homework before buying from people who call on the phone or make contact via the internet.
For more information on fraud prevention, including hints and tips, visit the Queensland Police website at www.police.qld.gov.au
50 responses so far ↓
pochp // Monday, 6 April, 2009 at 9:35 am |
Congrats to Queensland Police!
NOZX // Tuesday, 21 April, 2009 at 11:56 am |
yes this needs attention! i work at a computer retail store and i’ve had two customers today call me regarding this. This needs to be in the news as this is a serious threat, and considering this was posted 6th of April and still happening 21st of april. there are a lot of people on the internet complaining from different companies also.
NOZX // Tuesday, 21 April, 2009 at 1:37 pm |
The question is, how do these people get their home phone number and link it to their internet? Has anyone with a prepaid wireless internet plan recieved a called? Does have naked/open dsl make the targets more vulnerable?
NOZX // Wednesday, 22 April, 2009 at 9:43 am |
To note: they also go through logmein.com and logmein123.com as both are remote access software sites, the companies are legitimate but the people calling and trying to access your computer this way is not. – from what i have researched so far.
Chris // Saturday, 25 April, 2009 at 12:54 am |
I have just had these guys phone me up – he told me to look up files and said that they were infected. he then wanted me to remotely connect with him which of course i declined, when i said to him about this being a possible scam( before i did more research) he said words along these lines ” people can badmouth whoever they want on the internet and i shouldnt listen to everything i read” i then did more research because i hung up on him but he phoned back again. i Agree with NOZX, this needs to be broadcasted … i live in the UK and its happening to us it needs to be international news.
Alan // Sunday, 10 May, 2009 at 2:15 am |
I run a small computer repair & service business in the UK. Three of my clients have reported similar unsolicited phone calls. Fortunately, they were not fooled. There is very little that can be done except to make people aware of this scam.
NOZX // Tuesday, 12 May, 2009 at 12:03 pm |
I’m interested to know how they are getting victims numbers? From reading there are definately instances where victims have previously(within a week or so, sometimes as little as an hour previous) called a technical support centre, ie. dell or one of the major companies calls centres that transfer through to a call centre india, and whether these details are being leaked through these companies because many cases and calls are made with specific reference to problems on the victims company. example customer calls HP for technical support and logged the details because Internet Explorer keeps crashing and then recieve a call shortly after.
Keith // Thursday, 28 May, 2009 at 11:15 am |
My grandma was only hit again last night after telling them not to call back earilier in the week, how can the Australian Government and/or Police not be able to shut this down considering they have an Sydney phone number (02) 8014 7593.
NOZX – Interesting you ask as I can somehow relate to this. My 80 year old grandmother, who was targeted, recieved the call after logging performance issues with Bigpond, also an indian call centre. The Supportonclick scum were mentioning bigpond as well as Microsoft which unfortunately sucked her in. As you asked, are these call centres leaking their information?
The bloke did say to me that he got her number off a random call register but everything about this mob is full of it…
it’s just so wrong…
Margaret // Friday, 29 May, 2009 at 2:40 am |
I just received a SCAM call today. I live in Savannah GA
Susan // Friday, 29 May, 2009 at 3:11 am |
I just received this call simultaneously on both landlines in my house. People calling from India wanted me to go to supportonclick dot com. I live in Largo, FL. Scary stuff.
Daniels. R.C. // Friday, 29 May, 2009 at 5:50 pm |
I received an unsolicited phone call WED. 27/05/09., going thru the routine as described by previous callers. I severed connection. They phoned back 29/05/09.
Thelma // Friday, 29 May, 2009 at 7:12 pm |
I got half scammed, I guess I could say. I gave them access to my computer, then half way through I asked if I was going to get charged for this (i was browsing their website). They said yes, and when i outright refused to pay them (I’m a student. I don’t have any money!) they said they’d contact their accounts dept and see if they can sort something out and call me back in 10 mins. That was about an hour ago. I’m so relieved that I didn’t go through with the second half of it. Although, I still contacted my bank and got them to cancel my internet banking for a while, my ISP (who said that there’s not much they can do as they can’t look at what has been taken out of my computer) and I’ve changed all my passwords. I tried calling crimestoppers, but they gave me the number for the ACCC (who are closed after 5), so that wasn’t much help. I feel so dumb
NOZX // Monday, 15 June, 2009 at 9:35 am |
Well I’m more disappointed at the lack of response or whatever you would call it. I called crimestoppers first off and notified them and all they said was they were aware of the problem and left it at that. Nothing else I have heard since so if it’s still happening then obviously the issue has no been resolved and I too agree that if it is an australian/sydney number why can the power that be not do anything to prevent this. I understand it would mostly like mean the person/people committing the crime will just get a new number, but still. Must be traceable some how and the call centres that these companies use obviously have security issues at which point i think if someone was to seriously fall for it the company that leaked the information could and should be held accountable for. Today there is sufficient technology to track and have a history for just about everything.
Daniel // Wednesday, 17 June, 2009 at 4:57 pm |
Hey, I got a call from the supportonclick guys yesterday. Asking me if my computer was running slow. Slow it was, so I said yes. the guy was quite helpful and fixed the problem in a few minutes.
Now the computer is quite fast.
Dunno about the others, but I am impressed with the Support On Click service. And I don’t get it, if they offer quality service in lieu of money, how can they be regarded as scammers?
Alan // Thursday, 18 June, 2009 at 12:43 am |
If Daniel is for real, how on earth did he happen across this web site??? And what does “quality service in lieu of money” mean?
These people are scammers because:
They are not who they purport to be.
There is no such thing as a free lunch, or a free computer service.
You should only let somebody you trust take remote control of your computer, not any cold-caller. How can you be sure they don’t STILL have remote control?
Keith lewis // Thursday, 25 June, 2009 at 12:15 pm |
I was scammed last night from a service provider called support onclick thank goodness they did not get any money from my debit card which was cancelled immediately when I found out. They were pretty convincing and I was so gullable. A good lesson learnt from this.
David Morgan // Thursday, 25 June, 2009 at 7:53 pm |
I have just had these guys phone me upname is Eric Edward (yah, right) very bad and thick east indian accent.– he told me to look up files and said that they were infected virus. he then wanted me to remotely connect with him which of course i declined, when i said to him about this being a possible scam( before i did more research) he said words along these lines ” people can badmouth whoever they want on the internet and i shouldnt listen to everything i read” i then did more research because i hung up on him but he phoned back again. i Agree with NOZX, this needs to be broadcasted … i live in the UK and its happening to us it needs to be international news.the he transfar his call to his supervisor who was very polite and very good accent.
John Peter // Friday, 26 June, 2009 at 1:35 am |
Hi Eric Edward, It’s your fan Mr. John. You have provided me service.You are a really nice person.
Ian Williams // Friday, 26 June, 2009 at 5:16 pm |
I am not accepting the comment which everybody used for support on click. I got call from support on click they came to my computer and done a very good job within 20 min. Before that i was frustrating to use my computer but now I feel really happy to use it and I hope this kind of comment should not be there. I have given my debit card no to them but the debit only 172 GBP for 3 year service. The did’nt debit any single penny extra from my debit card.So if anybody having any confusion before doing anything wrong need to clarify it which will help us .
Steven Watson // Sunday, 28 June, 2009 at 1:02 am |
I got a call last day it’s regarding my computer, actually they are a software maintenance department Support On Click, done a very good job in my Windows XP. From last few days I had some problem with my computer, then I received their call like a God arrival, and inform me all the problems which I had in my pc. And they provide me service in my computer after they fixed all my issues. I faced many problems with my email related but they make me aware about all these things, really they are not only the software department they can also share me knowledge about my pc.
I am really thankful about the guy I forgot the name.. He was talking to me so nicely and make me understood about all.
And the other one I talked end of my call, he is also really very good person..
Thank you all “Support On Click”, the guys are doing a great job..
Alan // Sunday, 28 June, 2009 at 8:10 am |
Well it’s clear from the last few posts that the scammers have found this thread and are trying to spread misinformation about how wonderful they are. They are easy to spot as fakes, not least because their command of English isn’t very good.
Keith // Monday, 29 June, 2009 at 11:01 pm |
Just got a call from these guys today. Wanted me to type w w w . s o c 1 2 3 . c o m into the command prompt. At that point I told them Thanks but no thanks. He even had the cheek to call back. I’ve rebooted my router which has changed my IP address and ran Sheilds up just to be safe. The question is how do these scammers get your name and telephone details?
Samantha Prior // Wednesday, 8 July, 2009 at 12:56 pm |
The problems that I and several customers have had with IE8 security is ridculous, I have given up trying to adapt it to various different machines. Therefore firefox is the easy fix. To get any website to work. And to be able to post. Windows 7, yep more problems on the horizon.
Metqa // Thursday, 9 July, 2009 at 4:57 am |
Ha, I got this call and did everything they guy asked up until the run execute program. the whole time he was talking and lamenting my poor infected computer, I was looking up this company, I finally confirmed that it was a scam. I politely told him I could not afford the service and asked for their phone number to call later. He kept insisting I use the one time service and finally I blew up and told him this was a scam and hung up on him. He called right back. I asked him his name and he told me and I said “Nicholas, if you call me again I will call the Police. Do you understand “police”?” He kept say” yes please listen to me” and I said in my most stern Mother-like voice “Nicholas, Hang Up The Phone!” “Nicholas, Hang Up The Phone!” “NICHOLAS?!?!? HANG UP THE PHONE!” Finally, he paused, wished me a nice day and I thanked him and after a moment. he hung up. Tee hee!
Ashley // Monday, 13 July, 2009 at 3:28 pm |
I am happy with supportonclick as well. they have helped me install an anti virus in my machine. the support staff was efficient and friendly. he helped me install the anti virus in a few minutes. And the best part is you have to do nothing yourself. the whole thing is automated. Now I am happy with the anti virus security in my computer.
I can now surf the internet with peace of mind. thank you supportonclick.
Anne // Thursday, 16 July, 2009 at 3:07 pm |
support on click strikes again in Victoria
A friend of mine received a call last night & let them into her computer. But when they demanded $400, she refused to give them her credit card or bank details.
Her computer now freezes/crashes and needs repairs due to what ever they did to her computer last night.
scuff // Friday, 17 July, 2009 at 12:10 pm |
Anne,She may be able to undo this easily if she has Windows XP. Have a read of this and try it: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/systemrestore.mspx Just pick a date that’s before yesterday’s date. It will not change any of her personal files, just system settings and programs that have been installed since that date. Regards,Sonia.
Tickler // Sunday, 19 July, 2009 at 2:48 pm |
I know this damn scamster company. I used to work for it. It is in Eastern part of India. Anyone wants to take legal action against this company, I will readily give them this company’s number.
James Ulrich // Sunday, 19 July, 2009 at 7:52 pm |
Well guys they are running really a scam..and not only in Aus but also in USA n UK previously in Canada but Canada Govt. kicked them out..”Hi Sir..this is Blah blah from support on click(in slow tone) then this is a call regards to your computer and all”..and they also say they have some crappy link wid microsoft..they will show u temp folder and prefetch..and also error reports wad is very natural ..and after they say those temp files are really bad for computers health and not to touch those..but here as a tech guy i can tell u..those files are not either harmful and u can directly delete those..and yeah remeber they try to give u the remote support and when they will tell u to pay they can see ur CREDIT CARD NUMBER AND CVV NUMBER..so never ever take support from them..yeah they will try to convince u by local techi and some other shit but the way they try to scare u is nothing but a BIG ZERO..they use free softwares and take our money for a so called service wad is totally crap..prefetch files and temp files are not at all can crush ur HARD DRIVE and u can del them..so next time if they call just say go to hell..and yeah they have only physical exisetance in INDIA rest all are bluffs..and here comes their Address
PECON SOFTWARE LTD
EN-27,SALTLAKE.SECTOR -V ,2nd Flooe
Kolkata-700091
India
Ph-+91 033 4010 1601
PChulpzutphen.nl // Monday, 27 July, 2009 at 1:17 am |
nice work!
serenity55 // Monday, 27 July, 2009 at 6:20 pm |
I have had them phone me 3 times now. I have refused to give them any info whatever & also have refused to go on my computer at all while talking to them. Funny scary thing is that after their 1st phone call to me my computer has slowed/freezes dramatically. Could they have compromised it somehow so I would listen to them on the later calls or is it a coincidence?
Nick Clarke // Tuesday, 28 July, 2009 at 10:15 pm |
Thanks for this. While supportonclick were on the phone just now I looked them up, and this site told me just what I needed to know – that I should put the phone down. Very helpful.
Ben // Thursday, 30 July, 2009 at 2:35 pm |
Difficult with so many people spreading rumours like that. I did get quality service from these so called “scammers.” I paid about $99 and and still registered with them for their services.
Timothy // Friday, 31 July, 2009 at 4:00 pm |
Same here. initially it was awkward but as we spoke things turned out to be fine. Yes, they were making cold calls and when I let them work on my comp, they solved my problems with spyware. It was there before they contacted me.
Rebecca // Tuesday, 4 August, 2009 at 3:17 pm |
I paid $99 for services which I received on time. Will be calling them soon this weekend.
Lavender // Friday, 7 August, 2009 at 3:47 pm |
$99 is what i paid too. I have not heard from them as yet. Does their live chat work? I will get in touch that way.
Ron // Friday, 14 August, 2009 at 2:53 pm |
A few months back Supportonclick contacted me right after I had reported a problem with internet explorer. They mentioned that they received this and sounded legitimate. I was learly but continued because I was desperate! It took a couple of hours but they did help my computer run smoothly. HOWEVER, after requesting 5 or 6 times, they would NOT send me anything by email, such as a receipt. I paid $99.00 and wanted it in writing but it never came. They also continued to call me back to see if I needed any more help. I emailed them hot letters and talked with guys on the phone and they always promised to send a receipt by email but never did. Also, I was calling a cell phone and could tell by listening to the guy walk and then drive, etc… It was strange and I believe they continued to call me, even months later, because they wanted back into my computer. Never again! My contract is still current but I wouldn’t dare contact them. The last conversation I had with them I told them I didn’t believe they were a legitimate business and then they stopped calling me.
I would love to know of a legitimate service out there.
Dr. B.C. Paul // Monday, 24 August, 2009 at 12:58 am |
Hi Friends,
Only one thing to add up ….. never trust someone you cannot see. I am here staying in UK for last 35 years. I was only 21 years old when I came here from India.
I don’t think, here we need people for free computer service from India.
Last year my wife recieved a call from India (telemarketing call from a different company). They have stollen £ 5000 from my bank account.
We are very happy with our old computers we dont have any need to make them new.
Forgive us .
Let us stay in peace.
John // Monday, 24 August, 2009 at 1:02 am |
Hey ,
You are an Indian. They are your countrymen.
Dr. B.C. Paul // Monday, 24 August, 2009 at 1:07 am |
What are you expect me to do SON.
I dont know much about modern call centers. When there were no call centers there were less problems.
My wife is a cancer patient. I dont want to recieve telemarketing/cold calls.
God bless you John.
Support on Click Scam – 01274 900834 & 01274 449373 | www.bl0g.co.uk // Wednesday, 23 September, 2009 at 8:08 pm |
[...] A posting on this blog claims that the caller asks you to set up remote access on your machine to that they can infect you [...]
Rob’s Blog » Very Odd Sales Call // Friday, 16 October, 2009 at 1:00 am |
[...] @tonesav has directed me to this post which explains it is a scam to try and gain access to my computer! Share [...]
Gregory Gross // Wednesday, 4 November, 2009 at 8:55 am |
Another attempt has been made. While the operator did not say he was with MS Corp., he did indicate getting my phone number from them and to be calling in response to their direct request. The more the operator thought I knew of what I was doing the more reticent he became. (I’m a desktop techie type.) Each change in approach smacked of a confidence game.
DD // Saturday, 14 November, 2009 at 10:38 pm |
Prateek Shah, who claims to be a director of SupportOnClick, has left a comment over at http://www.bl0g.co.uk/20090923/support-on-click-scam-01274-900834-01274-449373/
Prateek Shah // Saturday, 14 November, 2009 at 11:11 pm |
Hi all,
I believe the forum moderators have been deleting my company’s attempts to reply to your comments, which I feel is unfair on us. I hope that the objectivity of this post will help it remain on this forum.
I am a Director at Pecon, having joined the company 2 months ago after returning from USA. I believe this company has a genuine product that is beneficial to its customers, and while we have had incidents in the past where our sales agents have used unethical means to sell our product, we have taken stringent measures to correct this and I can confidently say that today none of our callers claim that they are from Microsoft or overcharge our customers (if they do so they are immediately terminated).
Having said that, there are some assumptions that this post makes that are really not valid – for instance, the police report does not at any point mention the name of the company making these calls, and we are not the only company that provides this service – in fact some of our past employees have absconded with our software and started similar companies.
Secondly, at no point do we install viruses that collect credit card data – this is simply an unverified claim made to exaggerate the gravity of the “scam.”
Lastly, in the few cases where past employees of ours have made unethical sales, we have made a conscious effort, where given the opportunity, to make amends. Even now we stand by the policy that the grievances of any customer who feels unfairly treated will be swiftly addressed.
The hullabaloo that this post and others like it have created, on the other hand, have caused us much inconvenience and loss. Customers who have benefited from our service and were well satisfied with it for 3 or even 6 months suddenly see such reports and take their money back.
I sincerely hope that some of you will open your mind enough to check our product out before you judge us based on someone else’s incorrect conclusions – most of the posts above are from people proudly claiming that they got a call from us, saw this website, and shooed us off, and this pattern just goes on and on. Very few of the posts provide any material objections, and to most of them I could make a reply given the opportunity. As for using the remote connection to usurp your computer and personal data behind your back, we use remote support software from a California-based company (Citrix GotoAssist), and they will tell you that such a thing is not possible.
I am aware that all you are trying to do is create awareness and increase computer users’ safety and security, but I assure you our company’s objectives are much the same. We are not scammers and we are definitely not “scum” as someone above has called us. Just because we are Indian does not make us dishonest. Generalizing a few exceptional cases to defile the name of our company as a whole does not make you good reporters.
I only hope the moderators of this forum will be open-minded enough not to delete this post simply because it’s from an Indian IP address.
Sincerely,
Prateek Shah
Director
Aaron // Saturday, 21 November, 2009 at 2:40 am |
Okay… I am giving all my listeners a heads up given my folks got a call. Prateek, Find a new way to sell my friend. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck… Good luck to both sides of this dilema… Follow your gut Folks. ~A
Matt Walton // Thursday, 26 November, 2009 at 5:07 am |
Just got a call from Support on Click – glad I found this article before I remotely connected to their system and got charged.
Although I have read Mr Shah’s response above – I’d say the staff at his company are still using dubious sales techniques to sell their product and would urge anyone having technical problems to contact a more reputable company.
The representative I was contacted by did still claim to be a Microsoft affiliate, and although I was having a few technical issues at the time, I haven’t got a clue how he got hold of my phone number unless they’d already introduced some for of software onto my computer already to cause those problems in the first place.
Prateek Shah // Tuesday, 1 December, 2009 at 8:47 pm |
Thanks for the feedback, Aaron and Mr. Walton.
Aaron, I am sorry you are prejudiced against telemarketing. We have used this method to sell products of major international (US/UK/Australian) companies and presumably you would not buy their products in this manner either. That is a loss to you as much as to us and I hope you will see fit to get past this “gut” feeling. (“Prejudice, master of passion, sways it to what mood it likes” – Shakespeare)
Mr. Walton, I hope you are not confusing “Microsoft-certified” with “Microsoft affiliated.” We do have Microsoft-certified technicians and see fit to mention this fact. If you are confident that you are not mistaken, we would be much obliged if you could send us feedback on our website including as much information as you can about the call – caller name, time and date, etc. I assure you we will deal with the issue promptly.
Your phone number is public information that can presumably be found in a phone book, and also on various websites on the Internet. I assure you our callers would have had no prior knowledge of technical issues on your computer – they simply look for common problems that a lack of thorough maintenance gives rise to.
Thanks and regards,
Prateek Shah
Director
bl0ke // Wednesday, 2 December, 2009 at 1:17 am |
*My* number isn’t listed in any phone book, and in fact is registered with the TPS, so no UK-based business should be calling me at all unless I have a prior arrangement with them.
Prateek Shah // Sunday, 6 December, 2009 at 3:07 am |
We generally do not have TPS numbers in our database. A few do slip through, usually because they are newly registered – but our representatives are instructed to correct this when they discover the error. I apologize for the mistake and for any inconvenience caused to you.
Sincerely,
Prateek Shah