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Confuzzled

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Everything posted by Confuzzled

  1. Thanks Paul, I'll keep an eye open for a cheap phone. Things have quieted down in the past month. I only got the 1 call on January 17 from the same guy who tried to get into my bank account. He was nice enough to identify himself!! I guess they got tired of me reporting them and their phone numbers because the number was hidden for that call. I was able to get info about calls to and from my phone through my service provider and for that call, the guy changed his number to appear as mine. Therefore the official phone record looks like I used my phone to dial my phone to have a conversation with myself. I still haven't figured out why they used Yahoo's number back in Oct. and Nov. Yahoo verification calls don't come in if one is not using their email, and they are not from live people. Thanks for your help.
  2. Hi Paul, I did better than that. They called for 3 days trying to get me to log into my bank account. That gave me time to check out what they were telling me. During the actual scam attempt, I had them on the phone and computer for 4 consecutive hours as they transferred my call to the UK and back. They tried to do something very fast at one point but I shut the computer off and they got nothing. All my data was on disconnected external drives before I even picked up the phone. They were incredulous when they called back. The next day when they called yet again, they knew they had nothing and sounded very tired and sad. It was mostly entertainment for me. No real damage was done. It's hard to believe they still call and think I changed my mind and will now let them into my bank account. This was my first experience, yet I saw many flaws in their methods, the guy seemed like an amateur.
  3. I agree with you Dave. I now check the number on my phone before answering or just let it ring. If it's someone checking to see if it is a working number they get no reply. If it is from a friend, they'll leave a message. Unfortunately I can't make the phone look totally unused because when I don't answer, the service still offers to take a message. The problem with simply changing the number is that I've had this number a long time and if I change it, I can't update all records. Fortunately the number of calls has lessened. They tend to come early in the month, sometimes in rapid succession as if being dialed by a computer. Maybe not answering is working.
  4. Thanks Dave, #2. I haven't gotten any indication from any software that there was a keylogger installed. It was just a suspicion from something I read. #3. I have never given anyone any info allowing them to access my email. Besides, I change the long passwords more regularly and use multiple verification security. I guess the fact that they are still calling could mean they still don't have whatever they are looking for. #6. I only type my phone number online where required for certain forms, purchases, etc. or to give it to a friend or relative. If I change it, I'll be giving it to a lot of people as happened many years ago. #7. I really liked finding local repair techs willing to make house calls for no extra charge. The work gets done faster and I can see everything being done. Unlike Best Buy which has a turn around time of 2 weeks and I can't watch or the remote techs from HP who change things to how "they" want them and will absolutely refuse to put them back the way "I" want them. Everyone does things differently so if I call back and tell a new tech to undo something, they have no idea what it was originally so they can't. In the past it has taken up to 3 months for most unwanted changes to be reset by the very techs who messed them up in the first place, if they could do it at all, and most couldn't. The HP techs messed things up so much I can't tell if things are right or wrong, only that they are not what they used to be. And constant little changes popping up now and then don't help.
  5. Thanks Paul, I am considering changing my number. I've already changed many other things. The most confusing was getting email double verification codes from the same number these guys have been calling me from since early October. That's a separate question.
  6. Thank you. I actually thought of the possibility you both mention, that they want me to think the verification code came from Yahoo. I even removed a sentence about this from my post because of one flaw I didn't think they could overcome and that is that the verification codes worked. How can they get into Yahoo's system and send me a valid verification code? Or could they be setting up my computer to accept whatever code they send? If it didn't work and I had trouble logging in I would suspect the number spoofing. I was called again yesterday and they are now hiding their numbers completely, probably because I've reported every number from them to the feds. However, I can still get info about the nameless, numberless person calling through more legal channels, and I am formulating a legal request for info at this time. If necessary, I can also subpoena the info. It is looking like I may have to change my number. I have noticed that some of my new security software from IBM does not seem to work any more. It is supposed to watch password use. I need to talk to them. 1. I assume they can do the same thing with text messages as with the voice calls? 2. I tried running a keylogger detection program once but it messed things up a little and I couldn't understand the output. How does one find and remove a keylogger? I have changed ALL my passwords to every site I have ever visited over the last 8 years to random strings of digits around 30 characters long, or as long as allowed. Logging into my computer is also a very long string. 3. If they are sending me the verification code so I, and they, can get into my email, does this mean they aren't troubled by my very long password, or does that still slow them down? 4. Now and then Malwarebytes anti-exploit stops working and I have to reinstall it. 5. Ever since I had to reformat my computer on 10-6-16, the computer has been different. HP refused to get me back to the version of Windows 7 I had to begin with. Little by little, the computer seems to be doing things differently than it used to. I don't know if it's due to something being wrong or is it simply because of several new security programs being used now. For example it takes longer to shut down. Yesterday chkdsk got stuck trying to fix a problem on C drive so after an hour I shut it off manually with no problem. Also, my screen flashes black briefly a couple times before the desktop goes away every time I shut down. That's a new development. 6. Assuming I change my phone number, even if I bought a new computer, do I have to worry about existing online accounts? Can these guys still get into them if the accounts have new passwords, proper verification codes, no key logger on the new computer, etc? 7. I know some local repair techs and I think I should have one come in and check the computer thoroughly. I will not let them do it by remote control or by dropping it off with them so I can keep an eye on what they do. Thank you for your input.
  7. This is so strange! Yahoo verification codes coming from SAME number as a known scammer calling me for 3 months!! On 10-5-16 I began to get calls from scammers saying they were working for tech support at a company called TechLiveConnect.com, which was just changed to PremiumTechSupport.com and I had a refund coming. I called the company I had done business with for info at 877-958-7560, but was transferred to the scammers IN MID CALL. Later, I got 4 calls from 408-610-4900, some seconds apart, from different live techs wanting to work on my computer all supposedly from Avangate (the parent company to PremiumTechSupport and TechLiveConnect) but they were all telling me to call them back at the number I called in the first place which started the scam: 877-958-7560 (PremiumTechSupport.com & TechLiveConnect.com.) I've gotten 15 calls from 408-610-4900 between 10-5-16 and 12- 15-16 when they may have changed numbers. Now the really strange part. On 12-31-16, and again on 1-12-17, I was logging into my email and had to get a verification code from Yahoo so I had Yahoo call my phone. The verification code came from 408-610-4900, the EXACT SAME NUMBER THE SCAMMERS HAD USED for the past 3 months. That's quite a coincidence!!! The 4 calls mentioned above could not have come from Yahoo because my computer was turned off. I was not using my email. It was not a recorded voice reading numbers, those were real people wanting me to log into my bank account. When I looked up the number months ago, it was registered to a known spammer, not Yahoo. I would like to hear from Yahoo what the actual number is which the verification code call is supposed to come from but there is nobody to talk to there. Does anyone remember what number Yahoo's verification calls came from before 12-15-16? Had Yahoo also just changed this number and just happened to get assigned the scammer's old number? Any guesses as to what's happening??? Thank you.
  8. I don't have all the facts about what this lady saw. I don't know what kind of display or phone it was. She was foreign and the way she described what she saw coupled with my possible misunderstanding of her description resulted in my choice of words above. I think I'm going to go prepare a couple other questions for later submission. Thanks again.
  9. Thanks Dave, everything you said seems to be saying I appear to be safe (or should I qulaify that by saying 'relatively safe.') You're right about the TouTube videos, they were specifically made to show the 'bad guys' being caught in the act. I've heard that these guys can call a person and make the receiving phone display any number and location they want. An employee of my bank once thought she got a call from the FBI because of that. She said her phone displayed the FBI logo and number. I do believe my phone number is being circulated, but I wonder what they are up to by regularly checking if the number/phone is working? Fortunately I don't get many calls. If someone wants to reach me they can leave a voicemail (I actually prefer that.) Anybody else will hopefully get tired of my phone being turned off all the time now. Other than getting a new number, there's nothing I can do. My cheapie phone has no apps like you mentioned, so it is apparently safe. TV too if I understand right. The computer is the weak link, despite never using WiFi. Speaking of communications being intercepted, we hear that email is not as secure as we might think. How easy is it to intercept that? The first thing I thought of when my computer was slow to start was that there might be a keylogger hidden in it and it was transmitting its files. Without Task Manager I couldn't tell if there was network activity. I tried running a keylogger detector about a month ago and it messed up a few things. I kept the log it made, but I don't understand it. The computer is not the same as before the reformat. Nobody has had remote control and I'm beefing up security in as many ways as I can think of so maybe I'm just seeing normal differences. I haven't found any hard evidence of anything on or off the computer, but an article said the 'bad guys' may wait years, accumulating enough info, before they steal someone's identity. I know they're watching so I'm trying to be proactive since the alternative is unthinkable.
  10. Thank you for your answers Mr. Lipman, Follow up questions to your answers: 1 & 2. I have seen YouTube videos where someone will be communicating with a scammer on their computer and they call up a program that lets them see the IP address of the computer they're talking to, then other software tells them the location of the IP address. I was just thinking there might be software that could monitor internet traffic with my ISP and tell whether or not my IP address shows up. I read a little about changing the IP address of my computer or router, and I heard that if the router stays off long enough the IP changes automatically. I also read serious sounding warnings about all the other things that can change which can stop communication between the computer and router. It wasn't clear if the 2 would find each other automatically, or would I need a service call from my ISP so they could set them up again? It involved many things I never saw before and when I looked into it, I'd soon get a persistent window with blank spots for names and passwords assigned to me by my ISP. They gave me nothing like that so now I'm reluctant to turn the router off for a long time. 3. In the last 2 months I've gotten 37 calls from more and more people and phone numbers. It seems to be worth someone's time. 22 of those are from known scammers and another 5 want me to call the company that transferred me to the scammers the first time. They still ask me to let them have access to my bank account. 4. When I say hack, I mean it in the negative sense, stealing numbers, erasing SIM card, calling friends, cancelling utilities including phone service, etc. I think they have a way to monitor if my phone is still a valid number, or something. I get many calls which last only 17 seconds, the phone doesn't ring but it registers a missed call. They must be getting some kind of signal back letting them know the phone number is good. Here is a list of incoming calls, the phone numbers, names of people or companies, and which are known scammers. (TLC = TechLiveConnect.com, PTS = PremiumTechSupport.com): (names came from http://www.whitepages.com/phone/) phone # calls person/company 605-722-6636 1 Curtis C Engel, seems to be monitoring my phone 916-791-7219 1 William Barnes, seems to be monitoring my phone 402-935-7733 1 Tchaa A Assih, seems to be monitoring my phone 877-958-7560 5 requests to call this # TLC, PTS 855-852-7658 7 TLC 415-690-2195 6 'Shane Watson', known scammer TLC 44-19-2548-7347 1 known scammer 44-20-7387-3893 1 known scammer 515-238-6713 1 serious scammer 408-610-4900 13 known scammer, seems to be monitoring my phone 5. I've heard about cameras being hacked. I don't have one. But could they interrupt my net reception through the TV as they might with the computer? They go through the same router. Thank you. ====================== Mr. Exile360, I've been on the 'Do Not Call List' for 8 years. The websites speak only of telemarketers. These are not telemarketers. These scammers want to rob my bank account. I've reported all names and numbers to the FTC identity theft department. On Oct. 6 I reformatted my system and have a different version of windows running now. However, I still suspect something isn't right. When I was setting up my account, if I used a certain login name and password, the computer would appear dead or locked up for as much as 10 minutes. Forcing a restart made it act normal but if left alone, it would gradually speed up and respond to commands normally. During the 10 minutes, I could not turn on task manager, turn it off, or do anything else to monitor what it was doing. By default, my net connection is disabled, as is WiFi which I never use, but I have no idea what's happening even though my icon says no net connection. I always seem to get into trouble when changing user accounts. One thing that makes me wonder about being hacked is that I ALWAYS log out of every site I go to, even email. However, now and then when I check my account 'recent activity' I see dates when it says I was logged in and had not logged out, but I'm sure I wasn't online on some of those dates. And the cities would not be where either myself nor my ISP are located. That has happened several times since my reformat on Oct. 6, but not lately as I'm beefing up security much more. In any case, I haven't had any problems with any email account. I thought I was starting clean after the reformat but now I wonder. In the past, techs have left software in place after helping fix something on the computer. I remove everything that looks extraneous. The remote desktop control feature in Windows is disabled. When my router for computer and TV were installed, nobody said anything about firewalls or setting them up to communicate with names and passwords. I am hardwired all over. Most things in your last paragraph I would have to speak to my service provider about, I just don't know about that. Thank you for your answer.
  11. Hello, I'm relatively new here. I recently reported some info about a tech support scam in which the scammers were trying to get into my bank account. It's been a couple months since it happened and I've gotten 21 calls from several different people and phone numbers, all trying the same scam. As if I would change my mind and give them access. I've increased my security but I still have concerns. The scammers got nothing from me, and I lost nothing, so for one they might be trying something more devious to get back at me for wasting 3 days of their time. When they call they like to stress that they know my name and address, no doubt from records taken from a company I did business with. I don't think they have any other info. They might have had credit card info, but those accounts have been closed. I think if they had that info they would have used it and they didn't. For every site I log into I use a unique ID and password. On top of that, my passwords are much tougher now . I've had no email account problems either. My C drive is 95% empty. All my data is on external drives which I disconnected before I began talking to the company I did business with in the spring because I was suspicious from the start. I wasn't afraid of losing anything at any time. I only let the scammers do so much, then when I was sure they had lied about work that was done back in the spring, I shut the computer off. That sure surprised them. Even if they download Windows folders from my C drive, there was nothing there for them to find. They sounded sadder and sadder the next day when they actually tried several more times to talk me into logging into my bank account. I have several questions: 1. Even though they have no access to my computer, could they be monitoring my online activity somehow? Watching for my IP address maybe? 2. If I had a different IP address, would that make me more invisible to them? They wouldn't know what to look for, right? 3. Are there still ways for them to hack into my system secretly? Except for the IP address, it looks like a different computer. 4. Can they hack my phone somehow? It's not a smart phone. It only cost me $10 so it's pretty dumb. 5. Even when I couldn't use the computer, I could still get online using my TV which is connected to the net. Can they hack that or even detect that I have it? I've had the feeling they're watching for another chance. Yesterday I looked at phone numbers recorded on my phone and looked up numbers I didn't recognize. I found that I'd gotten many calls from them. Several numbers are listed as belonging to known scammers. I guess my cheap phone didn't ring or alert me in any way. I think they are good at manipulating the phones because when I called the company I'd done business with, I later found out it had no record of my 15 minute call. Later, I was on the phone for 4 hrs with the scammer and my phone did not record that. I might think I'm just being paranoid if it wasn't for all the calls I found that I'd missed. Maybe I'm on a circulating list of targets which could explain why I'm getting calls from different people with different phone numbers. But not 'all' the phone numbers or people are different. One guy has called me 9 times. I answered once but he just hung up when I didn't cooperate. His multiple calls are all only 17-18 seconds long. Can he do something to the phone in that time, and how? Maybe he's trying to annoy me by hanging up before I can answer? Except the joke is on him because my phone isn't ringing. I've reported the incident to several authorities and online scam tracking sites. Nevertheless, I'd like to hear some opinions from people here who are more familiar with this stuff. Thank you.
  12. Hello, this is my first post here. I would like to know how to report company names and phone numbers used by some hackers recently so they appear on the lists on the tech support page? It was unlike anything I'd heard of. I called a company I'd done business with for months to get some info about a suspicious call I'd gotten, and in mid call I got transferred to hackers in England than transferred back to a hacker in California. The company I called had no record of our 15 min conversation and my phone didn't register the 4 hours of talking to the hacker. it was as if the company was being hacked in real time and I was transferred from them to the hackers, thus making me think I was still talking to the company I called. I already filed a report with the FTC with all company names & phone numbers. Thank you
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