Franchise Business: The Benefits of using Franchised Services
Jat Mann - Managing Director, PC PAL
There are many benefits of using the services of a franchised business, included a shared passion for excellent customer service and providing sound and ethical advice. Like many franchised businesses, we believe in building a strong relationship with our customers and become a ‘Trusted Advisor’, just like a solicitor or accountant.
An anecdotal story I wanted to share with you to illustrate this point is about a customer of PC PAL has been called this week by an alleged “Microsoft Engineer”. The “Microsoft Engineer” told her that she had a problem with her computer that they had detected and they were calling up to help her repair it. She was a little sceptical but followed their instructions.
Many of our customers have reported being hit with a new ‘computer repair’ scam which is rapidly spreading across the UK. The difference this time is that it’s not your usual email virus or booby trapped website scam… this time the con men are become even more audacious and are actually calling customers on their home telephone in an attempt to take control of their unwitting customer’s computers directly.
They directed her to the ‘System Log’ in ‘Event Viewer’ (which is an area of the computer which lists error messages) and asked her if there were any errors. Indeed there were errors listed (as there almost always are and are generally benign). She was then directed to a website called Teamviewer (a genuine remote support service being misused in this case) and asked to “Join a Session”. At this point she became suspicious when they asked her for the username and password that Teamviewer had just presented her.
Had she given this username and password the “Microsoft Engineer” on the other end would have had full remote control of her computer and could have done almost anything to ‘repair’ it such as installing a virus, removing her anti-virus or stealing all of the data on the PC. Potentially they could have installed a small piece of software called a key logger and monitored everything she did on her computer such as online banking passwords and other sensitive information.
Luckily the customer refused to give the username and password stating that her “computer guy” was coming in the morning and she would ask him to repair it. The scammer then became threatening and abusive trying to intimidate her into allowing him access, resorting to profanity and eventually hanging up.
We have had a flurry of calls from worried people across all our areas in the last week or so. It is not the first time that this attack has been used on home computer users. People should be on their guard as these scams appear to be gaining in popularity and can result in identity theft and financial losses. The Golden Rule to adopt is that if anyone is calling up out of the blue and is asking to connect to your PC should be refused. Never give up sensitive personal information such as date of birth, mother’s maiden name, national insurance number, passport number and so forth to someone over the telephone (or Internet) unless you are certain that you must give it out, but never give it to someone who has cold called you. Passwords should always be kept a secret.
The telephone number which was called from is 02064456568. If customers put this into Google they will be able to access a number of forums where other people have reported the same scam happening to them. Examples are http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/02064456568 and http://www.411phonesearch.co.uk/02064456568-phone-number
The customer had used our services before and immediately telephoned us to ask for our assistance. We were able to utilise the collective benefit of our franchise network and advise her about this scam and put her mind at ease.
If you are worried about a call you have received or have inadvertently allowed access to your computer in this way, please get in touch and we would be happy to provide further advice.
Jat is the founder & Managing Director of PC PAL, UK’s leading on-site Computer Repair and Support franchise network providing rapid, reliable & affordable IT support to homes and small businesses.
Tags: franchise, franchise advantages, franchise benefits, franchise business, jat mann
