About once every few weeks a person (sounds like he is from India) calls my house - claims he works for Microsoft
and claims that my machine is a mineon for hackers. He wants me to grant him access to the machine for a few hours. Of course not knowing who this person is, I decline him this.
Webroot protection on my machine does not find any threats. The only sign of anything that is out of the ordinary is that a pop up window posts when I shut down stating that an invalid memory location is being accessed.
Has anyone received such phone calls?
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Hello there! Welcome to the Community!
Yes... sadly I hear of people almsot daily who have received such calls, and sadly many are not as astute as you and hang up the phone. Here is a little copy/paste piece we have put together regarding this.
THIS IS A SCAM!! Microsoft does not send emails, pop ups, or phone calls of any kind advising that you may have a problem.
If you clicked anything links, allowed them to remote into your computer, or went to any web sites please submit a Trouble Ticket ASAP. (Now would be a good idea....)
If you would like more information, read on (After submitting that Trouble Ticket.....)
Microsoft never issues this type of warning or email or anything of a sort! Please see the following link for Microsofts official word on this:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx
"Neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes.
Cybercriminals often use publicly available phone directories so they might know your name and other personal information when they call you. They might even guess what operating system you're using.
Once they've gained your trust, they might ask for your user name and password or ask you to go to a website to install software that will let them access your computer to fix it. Once you do this, your computer and your personal information is vulnerable."
Also see Avoid scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently
http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/msname.aspx
For more information here iwhat the United States Federal Trade Commission has to say on the subject::
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0346-tech-support-scams
"In a recent twist, scam artists are using the phone to try to break into your computer. They call, claiming to be computer techs associated with well-known companies like Microsoft. They say that they’ve detected viruses or other malware on your computer to trick you into giving them remote access or paying for software you don’t need.
These scammers take advantage of your reasonable concerns about viruses and other threats. They know that computer users have heard time and again that it’s important to install security software. But the purpose behind their elaborate scheme isn’t to protect your computer; it’s to make money."
This scam is common and has been around for quite a while. Here is a good Webroot Blog article from April 2013 by Threat Researcher Roy Tobin.
http://www.webroot.com/blog/2013/04/30/fake-microsoft-security-scam/
Yes... sadly I hear of people almsot daily who have received such calls, and sadly many are not as astute as you and hang up the phone. Here is a little copy/paste piece we have put together regarding this.
THIS IS A SCAM!! Microsoft does not send emails, pop ups, or phone calls of any kind advising that you may have a problem.
If you clicked anything links, allowed them to remote into your computer, or went to any web sites please submit a Trouble Ticket ASAP. (Now would be a good idea....)
If you would like more information, read on (After submitting that Trouble Ticket.....)
Microsoft never issues this type of warning or email or anything of a sort! Please see the following link for Microsofts official word on this:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx
"Neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes.
Cybercriminals often use publicly available phone directories so they might know your name and other personal information when they call you. They might even guess what operating system you're using.
Once they've gained your trust, they might ask for your user name and password or ask you to go to a website to install software that will let them access your computer to fix it. Once you do this, your computer and your personal information is vulnerable."
Also see Avoid scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently
http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/msname.aspx
For more information here iwhat the United States Federal Trade Commission has to say on the subject::
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0346-tech-support-scams
"In a recent twist, scam artists are using the phone to try to break into your computer. They call, claiming to be computer techs associated with well-known companies like Microsoft. They say that they’ve detected viruses or other malware on your computer to trick you into giving them remote access or paying for software you don’t need.
These scammers take advantage of your reasonable concerns about viruses and other threats. They know that computer users have heard time and again that it’s important to install security software. But the purpose behind their elaborate scheme isn’t to protect your computer; it’s to make money."
This scam is common and has been around for quite a while. Here is a good Webroot Blog article from April 2013 by Threat Researcher Roy Tobin.
http://www.webroot.com/blog/2013/04/30/fake-microsoft-security-scam/
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