In reply to a post by Vorlon:

what is it that these scammers get from them?

Card details/bank details and money....

Often take control of computer and remove money from bank account.

In reply to a post by JohnR:

In reply to a post by Vorlon:

what is it that these scammers get from them?

Card details/bank details and money....

Often take control of computer and remove money from bank account.

Log in details so they can pose as posters on forums too !

I know from past experience that a friend of mine who isn't computer savvy genuinely thought he had Microsoft calling him. He contacted me whilst talking to someone with an Indian Accent and being concerned he was required to purchase Anti-Virus Software. At this time they had initiated with his permission a remote connection. Luckily he disconnected in time before any damage was done.

I suppose what has struck me is what appears to be an increasing sophistication/elaborate way in which they are now using things like an automated message with familiar accents and/or menu's to make them come across as genuine.

In reply to a post by Vorlon:

Of course I gave no info away and guessed it was a scam from the outset. He only hung up when I asked him for his telephone number so i could call him back. I wonder just how many UK residents lose out to these sort of scams - and what is it that these scammers get from them?

They claim you have a virus on your computer, and then persuade you to let them connect to your PC, via teamviewer or something similar.

Once there they either.....

a) fake some proof of virus/hackers, and try get you to pay them £200 to "fix" it

b) try get into your online banking

It must be 10 years or more since BT moved its customer service to India (as did many other companies). I do wonder why many of these spam callers (1) purport to be BT and follow "ID checks" similar to BT's (2) have Indian accents (3) clearly work from a call centre.

I left BT years ago but in fairness I found their genuine CS operators pleasant and helpful. The same applied when I helped a non-tech friend have her 50-year-old incoming line replaced.

In reply to a post by Malwaremike:

I do wonder why many of these spam callers (1) purport to be BT and follow "ID checks" similar to BT's (2) have Indian accents (3) clearly work from a call centre.

1) Because it makes them sound genuine.

2&3) Because India is a poor country where setting up scam call centres, recruiting people desperate for work and bribing police is very viable.

BT are in the process of moving their call centres back to the UK, to be completed by 2020

Please do not forget that many Indian sounding people work & live in the UK.

In reply to a post by cheshire_man:

BT are in the process of moving their call centres back to the UK, to be completed by 2020

Interesting read - am still gobsmacked about the rice comment!

I know many of these Indian call centres have had Graduates work for them as their ideal employment paths are hard to find. But it's quite sad to see that perhaps it'll be the Fake Call centres wherever they are located will lead to the downfall of the Genuine Indian call centre.
Perhaps when that happens people will tend to assume that calls with Indian sounding representatives are bogus by default?

I've never been a fan of that sort of outsourcing, not because of any anti foreigner thinking, but because I think it's better when people know more than just the language.

In reply to a post by cheshire_man:

BT are in the process of moving their call centres back to the UK, to be completed by 2020

When we were on ADSL 2+ I have to speak to overseas support, in which when explaining the issue would always confuse them and after about an hour being passed about I would end up talking to support staff in this country.

As soon as we moved over to FTTP and phone over to FVA all support staff I have spoken to are all from this country, even the ones that do call backs.

From what I was told all support for dealing with FTTP based products will be handled by local non overseas support staff, and that most overseas support staff were causing more trouble than was neded.

Paul