Sir – Readers might be interested to know of a computer-related phone scam. A caller claims to represent the ‘Windows maintenance department’ and sounds as if he is based in a call-centre in India.
He has knowledge of your address and other details and claims that your computer is sending out messages to his system requesting maintenance.
The idea is to persuade you to buy software from his website and download it on to your computer. This, to put it mildly, would be ill-advised. My household has been graced with several such calls.
I have tried various strategies for dealing with the irritation. This morning I tried the surreal approach: “Yes, you must help me”, I quailed, “My hovercraft is full of eels.”
After several minutes of wrangling, where I insisted that the eel infestation was the top priority for expert intervention, the caller hung up.
As might be expected, this scam is a national nuisance. Others describe their experiences at: www.computerrepairtips.net/phone-call-from-microsoft-about-virus-is-a-scam/
Manus Henry, Headington
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