Windows Computer Phone Scam - They Phoned Me!
I got a phonecall today from a very authoritative pushy woman insisting she was from microsoft windows and that my computer was sending them warnings, she was so forceful and experienced at this that if I were in any way hesitant or new I may have given in to her.
- Even though I'd immediately told her she had a wrong number, she said no, she was from microsoft windows and ringing me because they were getting warnings from my computer.
- I then told her directly I don't believe you, you are a scam, but she still persisted telling me she was from windows in such a clear bossy way that she was really testing my defences and clearly knew that a few pushes would push a lot of people right over.
We are just not used to being confronted with brazen liars trying to steal from us in such a head on way, aren't they supposed to be a lot more sneaky and subtle?! For a split second we doubt this could be happening and would like to believe it isn't. Remember this is all happening very fast and unexpectedly, you have to make a decision in the moment and it's your instincts and previous knowledge and experience vs her shock tactics, experience and skill and some pretty pro software on her side to make it look real, like caller ID.
Make no mistake, this woman was a seasoned professional. Depsite everything I'd just said straight up, within seconds she was asking me was I sitting at my computer right now...with all the skill of a hypnotist leading me further into a hypnotic induction!
- ''Are you sitting at your computer right now madam, we are getting warnings from the back of your computer''
This was all happening so fast, she was pushing me forcefully, I was rapidly trying to process the visual of the back of my computer sending warnings to them, and it was 8.15am so I wasn't even awake yet, I'd only got to bed at 6am!
- 'Could this be right afterall she sure is convinced and sounds so authoritative'?
- 'Can I really trust my opinion over this person who claims to be technical and presented me with the question when I wasn't expecting it'
- 'My computer is so important to me, can I take this risk'?
How To Spot a Phone Scam
If you get one of these unexpected calls you'll be operating in the moment on pure raw instinct backed up by your past experiences, so forwarned is forearmed.
Suspicious Aspects of This Call
- 'I am calling from microsoft windows': they don't do that.
- 'We are getting warnings from your computer': hm, I told her that was for my antivirus not for them, she didn't listen and pushed on very authoritatively.
- She persisted with 'we are getting warnings from the back of your computer' - that sounded like a pretty crazy visual to me, like an old fashioned tv with a huge tube or something and like she hadn't quite updated her con story to laptops.
- It was only 8.15am, no one does business in Ireland before 9am. At that hour a phonecall usually means someone is dead. And I recognized a similar number had rang me at an unusual time at the w/e and had hung up.
- How would microsoft windows have my phone number, as that was never given at time of purchase and installation on the laptop. We may have other accounts with microscoft like Office 365 but phone numbers, hm, even if they are given they are not connected to the operating system on your computer!
Professional Aspects of This Call
- The phone number came up as a regular Dublin number, the sort we would feel safe to trust.
- She was exceptionally cool, calm, collected and authoritative, definitely projected that she knew more than me. Her voice was Indian but many call centers in Ireland direct us to India so that bit didn't stand out too much.
Microsoft Help for Scams
When I googled windows phone scams I found this page and there they state:
''Microsoft do not make unsolicited phone calls to help you fix your computer''
Reference: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/support-scams
They also describe exactly what I saw, though I didn't know this till I saw their page afterwards:
- They will use proper looking phone numbers, the sort you would trust.
- Don't give them any details about you.They comb directories to get your details so may appear to know something about you,
- Don't pay them for anything.
- Don't phone them even if they block your screen.
- Don't ever install anything, and if you do then you must change passwords, contact credit card companies, run your antivirus.
- Hang up, that's the advice for if they call you.
- That page link above also has a list of the type of scams they've been running.
- And a reportascam link, which I got onto and put in their phone numbers, they actually phoned me from two different numbers, dedicated to getting through!
*I had been experiencing pop ups in the name of microsoft concerning being locked out of my hotmail account, which I blogged about here, but unfortuntately microsoft help did not extend to solving that issue. I can't tell the scammers from the real microsoft on that issue though this is the first time I found that reportascam page and mentioned it there.
I went onto youtube and saw a way to transfer hotmail/outlook .com emails to your gmail account so did that, it only transferred a fraction of them but at least some records are saved.
So bottom line is microsoft will never phone you or it seems let you phone them as that is part of their anti-scam policy. However the rest of their policy is so like the scammers they are easy targets and at times impossible to get help from them imo.
WA Heroes Help for Those Who Got Caught
Some updates from members' comments:
Provided by Barb / EasyMoney's from her experience watching people in here get helped in live chat and her own neighbor:
- Contact credit card companies to cancel any payments.
- Power down and shut that computer off so as to regain control of it if they have taken remote access to it.
And as Sandy / Dragonfly10 has pointed out:
3. Keep an eye on the elderly in particular who may be particularly stressed when hit by one of these scams.
Mary.
Recent Comments
115
I had one a few months back saying they were from the tax office and I owed money, which had to be paid within 24 hrs. He was very pushy, and rang back 3 times getting angrier with each call, which was from different numbers each time.
We have an accountant for our tax so I was pretty sure he would be ringing me to let me know if we owed money. But for the unsuspecting it would have been very confrontational and easy to get pushed into paying.
Very unpleasant experience. Now if I suspect it’s a scam I just hang up while they are into their first sentence.
That is horrendous! Tax office is scary for everyone and will get our attention even more than a computer, but I guess one big red flag there was the pressure sell - they are always suspicious and I hate even online marketing that uses tactics like that.
Some common denominators: the range of different phone numbers, the confrontational aspect, pushiness, all so similar! Clearly working for them!! Glad you hang up so soon on them, engagement or letting them get their foot in the door is on their side.
I've had a call like this a while back. I had fabulous fun letting the scammer try to guide me into giving him access to my PC via Window's remote desktop tool. It was only after twenty minutes that I ask asked him if it mattered that I was using Linux instead of Windows.
He hung up on me. How rude. :D
I think I understand what Linux is, is but what are the advantages of it. I am currently on windows 10. Feel free to PM me
Sandy
What causes the "blue page" to pop up on a computer. It can be a bugaboo to get rid of it.
Sandy
It's an alternative (and much more secure) operating system that replaces Windows on your laptop or desktop. It has a huge range of free software to go with it too - so unless you're using something very specific to Windows, you'll probably find that you can still do everything that you could on Windows but without the Microsoft privacy issues and probably much, much faster. I've always found that replacing Windows with Linux has dramatically increased the responsiveness of my computer, anyway. :)
My advice to anyone interested in trying it is to install it on a spare computer or laptop if possible - that way you've still got your main Windows machine to fall back on if you need to. You'd be amazed how cheaply you can get second hand laptops these days too - and Linux never needs the latest hardware.
I've cherry picked some good articles to look at that were published within the last year (to make sure you're getting the most up to date information):
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2918397/operating-systems/how-to-get-started-with-linux-a-beginners-guide.html
https://www.zdnet.com/article/so-what-can-you-actually-do-with-linux-a-guide-for-beginners/
https://www.techradar.com/news/what-is-the-best-linux-distro-for-beginners
It's usually a hardware fault or a driver conflict.
If it's hardware failing, that's bad but to be honest, it's often something more simple such as removing a RAM stick cleaning off the contacts with a lint-free cloth and replacing it firmly.
A driver conflict is caused when the software that tells Windows how to talk to your hardware is out of date or has a bug in it... in which case it just needs to be updated.
Best thing to do is look at the code that's reported on the Blue Screen of Death and Google it - there's often some common fixes to try for each code. Unfortunately some of them require you to get your hands inside the computer (such as the RAM example I gave).
For anyone who wonders, Microsoft (The real deal) does not call people like this! Out of the blue! To say they'picked up' on something! They are good, but Microsoft can't diagnose computer problems unless you let them have information about your computer.
These scammers get logs of sales from some type of computer works you have bought, then they know you have a computer and call you.
Thanks for making people aware. It's awful the scams that are out there. My dad used to get the same calls all the time at his home address on his landline telephone but he would deal with it in really funny ways. He used to make a game out of how long he could keep them on the phone talking before they would hang up in exasperation. With one guy he kept him on the phone talking by playing stupid and pretending that he didn't know how to work the computer (even though he had worked with computers as a job in technical support). With another guy he started saying to him things like "but your stealing money off of people, that's terrible! Does your mother know that's what you do for a living? Do you think she would be ashamed of you? Are you religious? What do you think God would think if he knew your were stealing peoples money" but in a really hilarious way.
Mozmary,
They certainly have a lot of nerve, We got one two days ago and they demanded our password, we won't go into detail as to what my husband told them. Here where we live they have started using #'s that we know.
We contacted our Comcast office and they take care of these .
Thank god for them. It's sad that they stoop so low, so glad you caught it and didn't get had.
Think good thoughts and have a great day.
carol
Thanks Carol, love the 'think good thoughts' suggestion!
I'm blown away with how active these scammers are globally, it's great to hear the comments here and see how many people have been targeted, what an eyeopener. My first good thought was expose this so more people can be aware and be ready for their call :)
I get those calls too . Usually a woman with an threatening voice leaves a message as you described. once I answered and it was someone with strong foreign accent telling me that my Microsoft account has been hacked .. l told him i don,t use Microsoft . Oh then you use apple he asked. I said no. Which is a lie because I do. He simply hung up. I have no qualms about being dishonest as it wasn't passing the sniff test at that point for me.
Brad
Hey Mary,
Sorry to hear about your experience. I have had two experiences like that over the past 2 years. They are persistent. I have had
really good luck with AVAST over the years. However, I am
using Webroot now because I have a contract with Geek Squad
from Best Buy.
Cheers,
Ken
Wow Ken, twice!!
Yeah Avast used to always just do its job in the background very nicely and without a squeak, but I didn't understand why they suddenly got active for #deletefacebook that time, and that I didn't follow thier instructions to delete! Always good to know different antivirus options!
I personally don't answer unsolicited calls from #'s I don't recognize.
I often times get scam callers that use the same prefix or 1st 3 numbers "312" of my wife's and my cell phone.
We don't know anyone else but her and me with that prefix.
I sometimes call the number back from an unpublished landline to get a recording saying No Such Number.
They use "Spoofing" software that can dial and appear to come from wherever they want.
I laugh about them most times.
But that's just me and I am old and crotchety.
Mary, thanks for this great information and warning directly from Microsoft.
I am sorry to hear about your experience, I am glad you found a resolution.
Desperate people will always resort to desperate measures to Scam decent folks. That is the reality of the Dark Side of Technology.
Great post!
Gary
Thanks Gary!
Lol! Well I love your approach to unsolicited calls! And those people sure are desperate!
Dear Mary,
The scammers are only getting better. I have gotten the "Blue Screen" saying to call the # at the bottom of the page, your computer is in extreme danger. DONT CALL THE NUMBER they will want to take over your computer and steal your vital information. The screen is extremely difficult to get rid of. The last time this happen to me, I had to take my computer into the shop. to have it fixed. Fortunately, the shop owner was a friend and did not charge me for the repair, Does anyone know the best anti-virus /malware program out there? I.m more worried than ever on that I'm starting to put up websites.
Microsoft has free anti-virus software, it works well and is used by many many big corporations. On the paid side, I recommend Kapersky.
I'm using avast and it is pretty good, I'm on paid version as I shop a lot online. Your sites should be safe enough in here, just don't store your password on your computer.
Sandra,
My background is IT Security, I earned my degree about a year ago through the US military.
The BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) is quite common if you have been surfing unprotected.
If you use a wireless connection you are also more at risk.
I personally use and have used for the last 5 years BitDefender AntiVirus along with Malwarebytes Anti Malware.
While there is no such thing as 100% security this combination of protection has served me very well.
If you use Microsoft Windows 10 you can quite safely allow BitDefender to work for the Windows Defender Firewall.
If you have any other questions or you need deeper information drop me a PM anytime.
I hope this helps.
Gary
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The sad side of these scammers, Is they do hurt real people. Especially the one that says: "we are sending the police to arrest you" for back taxes. There was an elderly lady that lives on my road who called me in a complete panic; It took me an hour and a pot of tea to talk her down off the wall. I felt so bad for her. I had to explain to her the IRS would always send a notice in the mail.
oh wow! It's great she had you there!!
You are so right, and that's a great reminder for us all to look out for others especially the older generation. In Ireland at the moment they have a 'make Ireland click' scheme to get everyone online including the elderly within a couple of years and that group would be especially vulnerable!