Allow me to repeat that: Microsoft did not call you. Seriously, Microsoft did not, and will not, call you; I’m positive it was not them.
Many folks reading this will be puzzled so far, thinking, “Why, of course Microsoft didn’t call me; I never said they did. What are you talking about?”
Many thousands of other people, though, will have a completely different reaction. At least once a week, sometimes once a day, someone contacts me and tells me an all-too familiar story: “Microsoft called me, and told me they had detected over the Internet that my computer had problems. I let them take remote control of my computer and paid them to fix things.”
My reaction to this story is always the same. I ask, “Did you give them a credit card number?” The answer is always, invariably, “yes.” “You need to call your credit card company right away and cancel your card,” I advise. “That call was not from Microsoft. You gave your credit card number to Internet criminals. You have been scammed.”
They’re called “tech support scams,” and they’re nothing new. I first warned my readers about them in 2012. They are similar to website-based tech support scams, except they start with a phone call instead of a popup warning, but the scenario is always the same. You get a phone call from someone, usually possessing a “foreign” accent, claiming to be with Microsoft, or an “official Microsoft affiliate.” Sometimes, they claim to be with a different company, like Norton or McAfee, anything to get you to take the bait.
The scammers say your computer has been detected as having numerous problems, such as viruses, outdated drivers or registry errors. They talk you into allowing them to “connect” to your computer, which means they have complete remote control of your machine. With some fast clicking and deceptive jibber-jabber, they point out numerous “problems” that need to be fixed, and then, the pitch gets more intense: they need your credit card number. For a fee, ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars, they will fix all of your computer’s problems and you will live happily ever after.
“Their website looked so real,” or, “they sounded so genuine” are the lines I hear the most from hapless customers who have been victimized this way. Con artists are called “artists” for a reason, in that they paint realistic pictures in order to trick people into believing what they say. The truth is, phony tech support scams are run by professional career criminals who will say anything to trick you out of your money. They are good at what they do, and they make a lot of money doing it.
Keep in mind that Microsoft will never, ever call you unannounced, nor will any other legitimate computer-related company. If you receive a call like this, hang up. Never give remote control of your computer to anyone who cold-calls you out of the blue, and never give them your credit card number. In addition to stealing your money, the bad guys are also inclined to locking you out of your own files by encrypting them, and locking you out of your own computer by secretly putting a password on it that you will never figure out.
Things have gotten so bad that, if you go to Google and search for “will Microsoft ever call me?” you will find Microsoft’s official web page on the subject, along with other helpful tips. If you visit my website, click on the “Scamming the tech support scammers” picture and you can watch a video of me dealing with these crooks. Get educated and stay safe.