It is indeed a scam, so don't give them any money or credit card info!

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Hello sg1269,

 

Welcome to the Community Forum,

 

HIS IS A SCAM!!  Neither Microsoft nor any other company sends 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.....)

 

NEWS ARTICLE: Tech Support Scams are on the rise.

 

 

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/

 

Also to help with these issues it's best to install an Ablocker like Adblock Plus for most Browsers: https://adblockplus.org/

 

Thanks,

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for the past week, some guy from India, assumed by the accent, keeps calling from a call center.  I assume it is a call center, because I can hear dozens of voices in the background. He wants to get on my computer and show me a problem he detected, saying that someone has hacked my email and has access to my vital information, ie passwords, bank accounts.  I have dealt with these guys before, when I had a real virus problem and they charged my credit card  $300 to clean up the problem.  Now I am wondering if this guy is just scamming me or if there really is something on my computer that I am not detecting?   I have run virus and malware scans and they have come up clean.  I really hate these guys because of the way they opperate.  They find some older un-tech-savey person call them on new years day, and christmas  and try to scare the bejesus out of them by showing them some bogus crap on the computer while they are logged on with your permission.  I wonder if they use this access to accutally infect a computer with a sleeper virus.  Anyway, they get the person all scared and then refer you to a specialist that will clean up the problem for a fee of $300, which gets you a year of tech support.  Still, I can't help wondering if there is a problem, given the vicious nature of the internet and the hackers who entertain themselves by screwing up people's computers.  My son is one of those SOBs and I kicked his sorry butt out of the house last April.  

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Hello sg1269,

 

Welcome to the Community Forum,

 

THIS IS A SCAM!!  Neither Microsoft nor any other company sends 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.....)

 

NEWS ARTICLE: Tech Support Scams are on the rise.

 

 

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/

 

Also to help with these issues it's best to install an Ablocker like Adblock Plus for most Browsers: https://adblockplus.org/

 

 

 

Hope this gives you some light into these scammers.

 

Please let us know how things turn out.

 

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