Scammers called soc321.com, support on click etc
Update 27/07/09: QLD Police had put out a press release sometime in April.
Whatever you do, do not give out any details to anyone that rings you out of the blue and says they can fix your computer. Especially if they want you to go to the site soc321.com.
They will ask you to view your computer’s event viewer log and count the number of ‘errors’ and ‘warnings’ logged. This list will naturally be big… there is nothing unusual in that. It is not proof of problems with your PC.
They may also ask you to sign up for 2 years service and take your credit card details. This is a con to get personal details.
They will ask you to give them access to your computer, so they can ‘fix it’. Fix it they do, but in their own way. They fix it by installing a trojan, worm or other computer nasty that will collect bank details or make it so they can take over your PC anytime for their own nefarious deeds…
This is a form of social engineering. Just because they have ‘proof’ of their legitamacy (they might give you a number to call where the operator will ‘confirm’ their authenticy) they are not what they seem.
If you get a call from them, string em along. Take the mickey out of them. Waste their time. Hang up by all means. Just don’t give them anything!!
Please see the following articles for further information:-
The Age, Ask Chris- New scam targeting Australian Internet users
Whirlpool-phishing over the phone?
Digital Host-Fake tech support call scam – supportonclick, systemrecure and logmein123.com
ctaspley.wordpress.com- Support On Click (aka reading the fine print)
December 9th, 2009 at 1:28 am
Sid
Thanks for the warning regarding soc123.com just had indian lady on the phone went through all that you warned about just like you said on the tin but she made that much of an issue regarding the errors in my event log that i got Suspicions and punched in what she asked me to do and got your warning page, thanks a lot mate saved my bacon, ps she asked me to click START then RUN and Type in http://www.soc123.com and click RUN, I asked for a phone number to check her out she gave me 02033180510 did not phone this. Sid do i need to report this ??? Kind Regards TonY Love Scotland UK thanks,
December 9th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Hi Tony,
Glad you were able to make use this. It is far too easy for people to get suckered into scams like this, that take advantage of our goodwill and ignorance about technology. They almost got my mother back in Australia with the same trick.
Digital Toast (URL also below) are running a concerted effort to get these scammers their just deserts. Their blog entry contains a lot of information and links to follow, as well as the places around the world to report this sort of thing.
Here in the UK, Consumer Direct have a ‘Report-A-Scam’ form online you can fill in. That would be your best place for any reporting.
The more we link this sort of thing out, the easier it is for potential victims to get the information they need.
http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk/supportonclick-systemrecure-scam
regards
Sidz
January 21st, 2010 at 10:43 pm
Just had their call. Went through the looking at the cookies and event viewer checking on internet as he went to each stage. Then the soc123 bit which brought this site up so I told the guy I now knew where the scam was and finished the conversation.
January 23rd, 2010 at 1:36 am
Hi Sid,
Thanks for the warning! Just had the same indian woman on the phone saying she was from a co. called Tech resolve and that they were employed by windows? she said my pc had sent an e mail error report to them stating that I had downloaded some malicious files that were now destroying my pc’s memory. When I suggested it all sounded a bit dodgy she became quite pushy and told me to call back their helpdesk
on 020 33180510 as proof.
I typed that no. in to google and luckily found your site.
Thanks again
Sarah
January 28th, 2010 at 6:11 am
I have also been called by these people both today and yesterday (after they got no joy from me yesterday). Today I asked them to give me a number so I could ring them and they gave me 020 331 80510!!! Unfortunately, before becoming increasingly suspicious, I did give them my name – should I be worried? (although I’m sure they asked for me by name when they rang). I’m also grateful for this site
Thanks
Lisa
February 12th, 2010 at 4:51 am
I JUST HAD THEM CALL ME, I LET THEM WORK ME THROUGH THIS UNTIL I GOT TO THE WEBSITE, THEN SAID NO THANKS, JUST AS WELL I WORK IN THIS FIELD OR I WOULD HAVE BEEN SCAMMED TO.
February 13th, 2010 at 8:06 am
i found this about it..
February 13th, 2010 at 8:06 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-8bXm4K-L8
February 14th, 2010 at 8:07 am
Hahaha! These people just called me and went through the whole chat up. I kept them holding on saying my connection was very slow while I checked online to see if there was a scam going on. I work in IT so I knew as soon as he said click start and run that it was dodgy. Anyway, had them hanging on for a good 30 minutes and when I got bored I hung up. They immediately called back. I ignored it but they kept trying. 4 times later I got my son to answer and say they had the wrong number then hang up, Then my daughter answered and told them we dont have a computer. They are calling again now. Persistent little buggers aren’t they! My advice, string them along as long as possible. It must be costing them a fortune in phone calls!
February 19th, 2010 at 6:12 am
[...] scam targeting Australian Internet users – Ask Chris – Digital Life – Sydney Morning Herald Blogs Scammers called soc321.com, support on click etc | Sidz’ Gentleman’s Emporium Blog So I kept them on the line for over 15 mins before telling them to get lost – must cost a bit from [...]
February 25th, 2010 at 1:10 am
just had a phone call from the indian soc321 group. i suspected something and hung up just as they gave me code to speak to their ‘technical’ dept. thank you so much for warning us about them.
March 6th, 2010 at 10:36 am
I just not got the call went through all the steps including going to the website. Once the website loaded I seen the display picture and knew what it meant. I knew if I clicked that something would happen that shouldn’t and I know that symbol was one in reference to having someone access and “fix” my computer. I ended up hanging up and he has since called back 7 times or so now and I went and searched for this. Glad I decided not to go further and not to even give him information or anything. Also glad I did not go into the website just the first page.
March 6th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
I just got a call from these clowns. I’m in London UK. I listened to them drole on about warnings but being pretty computer literate I knew these ‘Warnings’ and ‘errors’ were perfectly normal in a event log. They then stated they were from Offcom then changed to Microsoft. I work for the police now so I wasnt born yesterday and googled soc321.com before typing it into the run box they were trying to get me to do. After reading a few pages on people complain about these people I got the jist of the scam and took the piss out of him before hanging up. Cheers for the heads up.
March 6th, 2010 at 10:53 pm
By the way if u feel like sending hate mail…. they are here:
These are the guys who own soc321.com.
Pecon Software Ltd. ()
En-27, Salt lake Sector-V
Kolkata
West Bengal,700091
IN
Tel. +91.03340101601
March 10th, 2010 at 2:11 am
They are still going. I am outside London, and they just called. Said I was a preferred customer at Microsoft, which was the first warning bell. Rang asn asked if my computer ran slowly sometimes, which must get a high hit rate.
Thanks for the warning