Danger... Will Robinson... Danger!!! Microsoft Support Scam

Microsoft Support Call Scam.

Let's break down the scam.

The phone rings and a person on the other end, says that they are with tech support for Microsoft and they are contacting you because your Windows based PC is infected and they want to help fix it. ( It may be slightly different but it will be along the same line.)

Now that they have gotten your attention with a mix of fear and relief, they will ask to remote into your machine to check things out. Once in, they will navigate you to several locations on your PC and show you "supposedly" dangerous or tell-tale signs of infection or trouble.

After reviewing your machine they will come to the conclusion that your machine is more infected than originally thought and that the fix will cost you. For your convenience they will accept a credit card, check or bank draft.

This seems dirty enough but some even more cold hearted scammers will even infect your machine with real spyware, so they can steal your passwords and personal information; in order to steal your identity or access your financial institutions.

Thank goodness my relative didn't give the person any credit card or bank information. He told them he wouldn't pay, so they threatened to black list his IP address and make it impossible for him to get online ever again.

He called me and told me what had happened; I had him immediately disconnect from the internet and ran some software to remove any spyware and the remote access software they had installed.

Remember Microsoft will Never, EVER, EVER call you and tell you, that they want to help you with a virus or ask you for money to remove it.

If you are a victim of a phone or internet scam, you can report it here http://www.stopfraud.gov/report.html.