Microsoft Virus Warning Phone Call Scam is popularly referred to as Computer Assistance Scam. 99% of us operate our computers on a daily basis, and as such no one wants to deal with the idea of a virus in our computer. So what if a computer technical support service like Microsoft called you and warned you that they had detected a virus on your computer, and they were able to help you get rid of the virus on your computer BEFORE it infected and corrupted every of your files and documents?
This is one of the numerous phone call scams that is going around right now from one pc user to another, and I know this because they called my house four times this week. When I answered the phone after it rung, the person on the other end identified himself as a Tech Support Specialist from Microsoft. He told me my name and address(I was a bit suprised), and they told me that they had detected a problem with my computer. It all seemed strange and way out of place that a company like Microsoft would be calling me to alert me to a virus warning pop up on my computer, but I listened to what they had to say because I knew it had to be a phone call scam and wanted to get some more information from them. They instructed me to go to a spammy website with my computer and that is when I told them that I knew that there was no problem with my computer.
And so I hung up, I went on on my computer and started doing some online Research. I found out that this scam has been hitting people in the United Kingdom,South Africa , Australia, and now it seems this Microsoft Virus warning phone call scam has made it's way to the United States. Had I stayed on the phone, the phony Tech Support caller would have directed me to look at some files on my computer that would have "proven" that I had the microsoft virus that they were calling about.
They would have then directed me to a website where I could download a file that would supposedly fix the problem, but what the file really does is to give them unlimited access to your computer! Now they would have all of your information free of charge! And to top it off they will ask you to pay them a specific fee for this service of theirs.
If you go on Microsoft site;you will discover that `they have provided information about this scam on their website . . .
Note:You must know that neither Microsoft nor their partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes.
Once they have access to your computer, they will be able to do the following:
Con you into installing malicious software that could capture much sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords from your pc. They might also then decide to charge you any amount of money they wish to remove this software from your computer.
Take control of your computer without your approval and adjust settings to leave your computer vulnerable to their next attack.
Demand credit card information so they can bill you for Fraudulent services.
Direct or re-direct you to other fraudulent websites and ask you to enter your credit card and other personal or financial information there.
As things you are unsure of, always do your research first. One intended victim indicated that when they spoke with the phony phone Tech Support person they indicated that they had 3 computers in their home, and asked which computer had the problem . . . the phony Tech responded that they could turn on any one of their computers to fix this problem. This was a dead giveaway that it was a scam.
If you have been hit by this Microsoft Virus Warning Phone Call scam you should:
change your passwords,
use a trusted malware scanner to remove any unwanted software from your computer and contact your bank and credit card companies.
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