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Avoid tech support phone scams

Cybercriminals don't just send fraudulent email messages and set up fake websites. They might also call you on the telephone and claim to be from Microsoft. They might offer to help solve your computer problems or sell you a software license. Once they have access to your computer, they can do the following:


  • Trick you into installing malicious software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords. They might also then charge you to remove this software.

  • Take control of your computer remotely and adjust settings to leave your computer vulnerable.

  • Request credit card information so they can bill you for phony services.

  • Direct you to fraudulent websites and ask you to enter credit card and other personal or financial information there.
Neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes.

Telephone tech support scams: What you need to know

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.

 

Full Article here: http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx

 

TH
The reason I posted this article is because I get 6 to 10 of these calls a year, back in December 2011 4 times in the same week so the best thing to do is play games with them to keep them on the phone and that gives them less time to bother others but make sure you don't give them any extra info or access to your computer! Keep safe everyone :D

 

Cheers,

 

TH
I received one of these calls a few months ago about Microsoft saying that my computer maybe infected. I kept asking him "What's a Microsoft". I guess he got mad and hung up. He never called back again. 😃
@ wrote:

I received one of these calls a few months ago about Microsoft saying that my computer maybe infected. I kept asking him "What's a Microsoft". I guess he got mad and hung up. He never called back again. :D

It's unfortunate that allot of people get caught up in this scam :@

 

TH
Great Post! These kind of calls do happen all of the time and a lot of people do end up falling for it. Nobody is able to see your computer and know that you have a virus, so if you do end up getting a call like this saying you have a virus I would just hang up. If you are scared that you think that your computer has a virus, I would contact us and we can check your computer to see if there are any infections. But most likely you are not infected and the caller was just trying to get personal information like your credit card number. Think of these callers like a spam message you get in your inbox.

 

If you wanted to contact us to have the computer checked for an infection, you can send our support team an email. You can send us an email by following the steps below.

 

1. Open WebrootSecureAnywhere

2. Go to Help & Support

3. Go to "Open A Support Ticket" under "Product Support"

 

Thanks for the great post!



MichaelB 😃
As a computer business, we have had a number of our clients mention this problem.

It is only now after a year's experience that we have noted that for us, all of them have one thing in common - they are all BT internet customers !

 

Moreover, in every case our clients have said that the would-be support person telephoning sounds Indian/Asian.

 

Now is this just a coincidence or given that BT outsources it's broadband support to India call desks, that their security may have been compromised ?

 
@ wrote:

As a computer business, we have had a number of our clients mention this problem.

It is only now after a year's experience that we have noted that for us, all of them have one thing in common - they are all BT internet customers !

 

Moreover, in every case our clients have said that the would-be support person telephoning sounds Indian/Asian.

 

Now is this just a coincidence or given that BT outsources it's broadband support to India call desks, that their security may have been compromised ?

 

Well I'm in Canada and had many calls but none since I posted this thread! And welcome to the Webroot Community Forums! :D

 

TH
I think that tech support scams are getting worse. For more info click here.
@ wrote:

I think that tech support scams are getting worse. For more info click here.

Thanks for the article and Welcome to the Webroot Community Forums! :D

 

TH
Thanks I really worked hard on it!
Hello JeffRedstone, Welcome to the Webroot Community Forum. 😃

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