Today i had a foreign lady phone me on the landline, saying that she was phoning about me having problems with my laptop, The reason it may be running slow and saying i have a virus on my computer,all i have to do is go to a site called (TEAMSHARE) and download a file and it will show me what the virus is, and then they can fix the problem from there,apparently messages have been sent from my computer to theres,I werent sure if this was legit or not so told them i didnt have time to take the call, Is this normal because ive never been telephoned before?

Smells like a scam to me.

Don't use site they will get info off computor and god know's what they will do with it.never had that kind of phone call myself but to dodgy from sounds of it

my mum got the same call last week, she said " that bad must be a stong virus cos i've never had a pc/laptop. now they ring saying we can help with your bills and they know her name as they ask for her by name, on her mobile or home phone, if anyone know how to stop this let me know, vw_kyle can i ask did you enter any sky comps as this only happen to her after she went on sky to win something.

zippy,get your mum to get in touch with her phone company,bt, virgin who ever she is with they can block numbers for you . hope your mum gets it sorted .

If you have the number they call you from Kyle/Zippy go on to whocallsme.com (sorry can't add a link on netbook) When you enter that number on the first page,it will show you who it is,what they want and what people are saying about them via a forum.

I'd say a definate scam though.

she's with sky for home phone and vodafone for her mobile rang sky who said they can block with-held numbers at a cost £4 pound a month.

will let her know and post numbers here if she's got them thanks peeps chris will look that up thanks mate.

your welcome Zippy

Zippy, no i havent entered any comps

right got all the numbers 1) 07860003552 2) 08448569239 3) 447739319456 4) 07860004335 5) 01202560934 6) 1234482614 I've looked them up and they're from getaloanfast.co.uk and quid16.co.uk shes gets about one call of one of them everyday only just found this out now so mad. love to know where they get here numbers and name from.

Just do what I do. Say "please hold", put the phone on the table and walk away. Go back in 5 minutes and they've gone. It might not stop them straight away but it costs them money and it's fun to mess with their heads. Eventually they'll give up

Subscribe to the Telephone Preference Service TPS

Probably won't work but if not they are breaking the law and you can report them.
The phone call in the first place was a scam, had a few reports of this in work and had to de-virus a number of PCs. In future, hang up, don't answer any questions or give any info, just hang up!

Companies sell on details,they say they don't but they do BT and British Gas (assholes) are the worst offenders.

Telephone Preference Service doesn't apply to phonecalls coming from outside the UK - unfortunately nobody has come up with a way to plug this hole in the TPS.

They normally stop after the 5th unsuccessful conversation with you.

If they are calling you on your mobile then you could always add the number to your reject list.Mine is full with all these type of numbers.

i had 2 calls on my mobile the other week,have'nt got a clue what it was about,i just hung up! how do these people get hold of your mobile No?

It can take 28 days before numbers registered with TPS filter through (depends on how often the call centre update their automated dialing software's barred numbers list).

Being TPS registered doesn't stop "warm calls" - i.e. calls from companies you already have dealings with. For example, it is permissible for British Gas to ring their customers to cross sell their "HomeCare" plan and your bank can phone you about card protection even if you are TPS registered.

As they are not selling anything, TPS rules don't apply to market research companies and, as mentioned, companies calling from outside the UK are not bound by the TPS rules.

2 ways:

• they buy them from legitimate companies who sell the data of anyone and everyone that has forgotten to look at the Data Protection Act boxes at the bottom of most forms (be careful of the wording too).
• they buy from companies that have obtained the details via nefarious means. Including: generally ignoring the Data Protection Act, trawling facebook, myspace and web forums, moles and disgruntled employees, hacking etc.

Don't go to any site or download anything.

At best, they relieve you of some money for nothing, at worst they make you download a trojan thereby allowing them access to your computer.

It could also be that they put a keylogger on there - therefore goodbye usernames/passwords/online banking details.

DO NOT download anything they ask you to.