My Internet has been poor of late and this morning I decided to ring my provider Eir to register a complaint. By coincidence, while I was doing some work on my laptop the landline rang. It’s rarely used in my house, but I happened to answer it and it was a company claiming to by my Internet provider.
The caller told me they had been monitoring my connection and my broadband speed was very slow. This made total sense and he told me they were going to improve it for me with a software update immediately and follow that up with a hardware update that would be delivered to my home within three working days.
The caller knew my name and address and confirmed them to me. He wasn’t looking for an account number or credit card details, so I was off guard.
He told me to go to my laptop and he would give me to some codes to enter that would increase my speed. At this point I got suspicious because there should be no need for me to interfere with my computer, so I asked him a few questions. He became vague and I decided that he was a fraud and disconnected the call.
I rang Eir and told them my story and they confirmed that they have had a number of complaints about these calls and he told me how they operate.
These characters are interested in your computer. They want you to enter various codes so they can effectively monitor your online activity. So, if you’re using Internet banking, they will have access to all your details including accounts and passwords and some customers have apparently lost thousands of Euro.
Be careful because these calls are doing the rounds. They’re very convincing, so make sure you know who you’re talking to. If in doubt, hang up and call the company directly. f
well done Trevor. that is scary. Good to highlight it!
Had them again this morning Anita and I took them for a long walk as I explained that I was useless with computers. Had a bit of fun with them until they cut me off.