Beware - virus scam phone call

Hi b,

Yes, the technician you spoke to when you called Dell was right in saying to you that our information at the Dell support center is confidential and  not given out.

Dell will not make such calls to customers stating that system is infected by virus and this could be a global scam.

You did the right thing by hanging up and calling Dell to report the scam.

Next time when you get such calls about virus and asking you to provide Credit Card information for them to help you, I would recommend you not to provide such information and immediately call Dell and let us know so that we can help you with your concerns.

Please do get back to us for any further assistance.

This is a scam.

Click Here

The agency has launched a major international crackdown on tech support scams in which telemarketers masquerade as major computer companies, con consumers into believing that their computers are riddled with viruses, spyware and other malware, and then charge hundreds of dollars to remotely access and “fix” the consumers’ computers. The agency charged that the operations – mostly based in India – target English-speaking consumers in the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the U.K.  According to the agency, five of the six used telemarketing boiler rooms to call consumers.  The sixth lured consumers by placing ads with Google which appeared when consumers searched for their computer company’s tech support telephone number. According to the agency, after getting the consumers on the phone, the telemarketers allegedly claimed they were affiliated with legitimate companies, including Dell, Microsoft, McAfee, and Norton, and told consumers they had detected malware that posed an imminent threat to their computers.  To demonstrate the need for immediate help, the scammers directed consumers to a utility area of their computer and falsely claimed that it demonstrated that the computer was infected.  The scammers then offered to rid the computer of malware for fees ranging from $49 to $450.  When consumers agreed to pay the fee for fixing the “problems,” the telemarketers directed them to a website to enter a code or download a software program that allowed the scammers remote access to the consumers’ computers.  Once the telemarketers took control of the consumers’ computers, they “removed” the non-existent malware and downloaded otherwise free programs.

That was indeed a scam call. Be aware that several reports have been posted about this scam already and it's resurfaced recently. When you get another call like that, hang up!

And i suggest you report the phone number to http://www.callercenter.com and other agencies in an attempt to shut the scam down. 

I received a phone call supposedly from Dell Tech support today. I was immediately suspicous. I have never spoken to Dell without initiating the call. The number did not show up on my phone and I asked for it. 1-818-921-6957. This is a scam - Hang up.  I called Dell and they informed me it is not from them.

1-818-921-6957.

Interesting, that is a  Los Angeles (San Fernando Valley)  area code.

That's where I live.... 

please beware. I was contact be a individual on my landline that knew my name, phone number, model number of my computer,service tag number and the month and year I bought my computer.  He told me that my computerwas being hacked and that the dell servers were receiving messages from my computer and telling me that I had multiple IP addresses and that my nework was being hacked and wanted to take control of my computer to install firewall.  They wanted control of my computer as well as credit card.  How did they gain access to such secure information from Dell. Your Dell computers must have been hacked I contacted the FBI.  This was a very sophiscated scam, they had way too much info and they worked on my for 10-15 minutes trying to convince me they were dell and they almost did.  Dell should never sell or distribute this kind of info to outside marketing firms. Shame on you

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. This is under investigation. We do not share your confidential information outside of Dell. Please read and follow the instruction in the announcement, "Scammers posing as Dell Technical Support".

This topic is  close to me, because recently i got a lot of scams calling and messages from different persons. For example, I often get many scams proposals from Turkey. I found area code of Turkey +90 here https://areaphonecodes.com/turkey/ I think we need to be attentive with calls from strangers.