Are these people trying to scam me by scaring me about internet security?

Question

I received an unsolicited cold call from someone with a strong Asian accent offering to help remove malicious and "junk" files from my computer. I know there are plenty of scams out there, and I have hung up on this sort of call before. This time I tried to string him along a little. He was able to give me an identifying code that I then found deep inside the software of my computer, so he clearly had access to some information about me. He then asked me to go to the website of his company, Caldera Technologies. I refused to do this, since I expected that he would then ask me to allow him to connect to my computer by remote-access technology. When I checked it out later (calderatech.com) it looked like a legitimate company, based in Asia, that provides software support services. I keep my computer pretty up-to-date, with regular antimalware scans and defrags. But this person seemed pretty sure that I was asking for trouble if I didn't accept his help. I am now wondering whether this was indeed a scam, an attempt at identity theft, or maybe just a legitimate software support company using a pretty clumsy "scare" salesmanship for its services. I'm also kind of worried that this third party has access to my technical specs, though he works for neither Microsoft nor Sony (my computer's manufacturer). Any advice?

Update:

Thanks to those who have replied. I am well aware that this sort of thing is most likely a scam; but I appreciate all those who reinforced the message. My security software is Symantec Endpoint Protection, which I got through my employer; I also have access to MalwareBytes but I haven't installed it yet on this computer. I run Google Chrome with Adblocker. So far I have noticed little to no performance dropoffs though this computer is getting pretty old; automatic updates from both Microsoft and Sony seem to help keep it fresh. Thanks again.

Jamie · Accepted Answer

Like other users have suggested, this type of call is probably some type of scam or spam call, and I wouldn't suggest that you try anything that the person on the phone asked you to do.

If you are concerned about your computer's security, however, I would suggest that you run both an antivirus scan, as well as an antispyware or antimalware scan, just to be sure that your computer is not infected with any viruses or other malicious files or programs.

If you need a free antivirus program, I would recommend that you try using Microsoft Security Essentials, which was created by Microsoft and can be downloaded from the link below.

http://Microsoft.com/Security_Essentials

If you need a free antimalware program, I would suggest that you try using MalwareBytes, which can be downloaded from the link below.

http://MalwareBytes.org

Just so you know, it's not a good idea to have more than one antivirus program installed on your computer at the same time, as they could end up conflicting with each other. However, having an antivirus program and an antispyware and antimalware program installed at the same time shouldn't be a problem!

Additionally, perhaps you should try using either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, both of which are free browsers that are safer than Internet Explorer and both of which can also be customized with a variety of free add-ons and themes.

http://Google.com/chrome

http://Mozilla.com

Best of luck and I hope I helped you!

hikjik · Answer

It's probably a scam, but can you elaborate on 
"He was able to give me an identifying code that I then found deep inside the software of my computer"
What kind of codes, since not all information on the Operating system is unique to an individual computer. Did he ask you what type of computer/model you had before he gave that info?

Anyway, I am 100% sure, its a scam. No computer manuf. company is going to call you to remove virus. They don't care that much about their clients, lol.

browe66 · Answer

thats a scam. how could a complete stranger know anything about whats going on with your computer..

Pall Mall · Answer

ahhhhhhh ---------YES . a big time sam . why would you believe that , someone out of the blue calls you come on commonsense 
sorry no offense

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Are these people trying to scam me by scaring me about internet security?

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