Hi westjg

 

Welcome to the Community Forums.

 

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. Ask yourself...how would they know this?

 

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 use a good free Ad Blocker like the ones suggested below:

 

For Internet Explorer Ad Block Plus: https://adblockplus.org/

 

For Firefox uBlock: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/?src=ss or Privacy Badger:https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/privacy-badger-firefox/



 

Google Chrome uBlock: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en or Privacy Badger: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/privacy-badger/pkehgijcmpdhfbdbbnkijodmdjhbjlgp

 

Given that your sister has had unknowns messing with her system then if she is a WSA user (the service is free to those with an active subscription) I would get her to Open a Support Ticket ASAP, so that the Support Team can check out as to whether anything nefarious has been done by these unknowns.

 

Hope that helps clarify a few things for you.

 

Regards, Baldrick

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Totally agree with Baldrick. It's almost impossible for Microsoft to know that our computer (or any other personal computer in the whole world) encountered some problems. Next time, you should just ignore those pop-ups. Just restart, and do a full scan of your PC. Don't call their number. Or, if possible, check it online, on some sites like http://whycall.me or http://whitepages.com to see if people have reported the number.

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Couldn't have put it better myself, dawning...;)

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