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I'm sure most of you have either received a call yourself, or know someone who has, where the person on the other end of the phone claims to be calling from Microsoft and has identified a problem with your Windows PC. Unfortunately while it may be easy for most of us to spot these fake calls based on the fact that we know Microsoft would never contact us like that, these kind of “support” scams do catch people. Tens of thousands of them every year!
“Since May 2014, Microsoft has received over 65,000 customer complaints regarding fraudulent tech support scams,” Microsoft said in it's latest blog post.
Most of the time scammers are not only saying they are calling from Microsoft, but will also have web pages they direct you to that look like Microsoft's own billing pages. So to try and fight back for it's consumers, Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit is filing a civil lawsuit in California complaining of trademark infringement, trademark dilution, cybersquatting, and deceptive trading practices.
Microsoft also has the following guidelines to help:
If someone claiming to be from Microsoft tech support, or affiliated with Microsoft, calls you:
- Do not purchase any software or services.
- Ask if there is a fee or subscription associated with the “service.” If there is, hang up.
- Never give control of your computer to a third party unless you can confirm that it is a legitimate representative of a computer support team with whom you are already a customer.
- Take the caller’s information down and immediately report it to your local authorities.
- Never provide your credit card or financial information to someone claiming to be from Microsoft tech support.
- To report a Microsoft Technical Support Scam go to: support.microsoft.com/reportascam
[yframe url='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfpWrbIPPrI']
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KitGuru Says: I have received a fair share of these calls myself and have educated others that might be fooled by them. I really believe that while Microsoft is doing it's part, it's not enough. Education of users really is the only way to deal with this. Have you ever received any scam calls like these?
Source: Microsoft
I wanted to ask a question to Microsoft via their instant chat messenger and after the guy on the other end failed to answer a very simple question, he then started to offer me services to “fix” my computer for a one time fee or on a subscription basis. It was definitely Microsoft but it just seemed a bit scammy to me.
Sir we need you to install a program can you click on start button on the bottom left hand corner ” is that your left or my left ?
My dad had that scam and when they called me i kept them on the phone and did stuff as mentioned above
I always say I have a Mac, they hang up sharpish
I like to just mess about with them when I get calls like this XD
That was Microsoft Answer Desk and it was indeed Microsoft. Perhaps the issue you were having was outside of their no-charge warranty support? http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/Answer-Desk/categoryID.63433500
Well the question was “Will my Windows 7 code work again on a different harddrive?” and they couldn’t answer and tried to charge me £70 I think for the privilege
goes in phases , they seem to try every 2 / 3 days once every couple of months , usually obviously Indian or eastern nationality with a very English name (barry enid Bill even had a Gertrude ), how ever I ask them to wait whilst I answer the front door , after a few minutes I return and call them by the name they gave me originally. 95% of the time they do not recognise this name so I put phone down and leave it (not hanging up) so maximum amount of time is added to their phone bill hopefully
Most of us may recognize the phone scam right away but still, let us remember to spread the word whenever we get calls like that. Report scammer phone numbers to consumer protection websites such as Callercenter.com and notify the FTC. Phone scams won’t end anytime soon but as long as we are aware and vigilant, nobody will fall victim to the scheme.
I’ve semi-followed their instructions before inside a VM just to see their tactics. They don’t even notice that I’m not your average schmuck when I’m completing the commands they want me to run as they’re spelling them out.
and if i cant be bothered messing with them my quick response is “What has Microsoft got to do with my Ubuntu rig?”
I just tell them I have a guy that comes and cleans my windows every other month and hang up