Tech Tip- an old support scam is new again!

Recently T324 Technology Associates have received quite a few calls about an overseas company that calls people on the phone and pretends to be Microsoft, offering tech support or reporting a problem.

tech support Scam

The company obtains administrator status on on the mark's computer, then removes the rights of users and charges as much as $300/yr to "provide support"- which, of course, they don't actually do.

This scam was reported on in 2010, but clearly hasn't gone away!

The scam always starts the same way: the phone rings at someone's home, and the caller – usually with an Indian accent – asks for the householder, quoting their name and address before saying "I'm calling for Microsoft. We've had a report from your internet service provider of serious virus problems from your computer."

A new client called us while the overseas company was actually accessing her computer, and our associate told her to shut down her computer immediately! Her data security was protected, a significant issue especially because she handles confidential information. Remember, you will never receive an unsolicited call from Microsoft offering a "service contract", "tech support" or "security update"-if you get a call like that, just hang up!

 

 

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