Microsoft Scam

[Senator]

I just got off the phone with a “representative from Microsoft”. She said she has been getting errors from my machine. I told her she was a scammer, and almost hung up. She gave me a Microsoft phone number and an employee ID.

She wanted to ‘prove’ she had my ‘personal’ machine information, so I gave her a shot.

She explained how to bring up a command window (cmd) and type ‘assoc’ in the window. One of the last lines in the result set is this. She verified my machine with the parameter and number below.
.ZFSendToTarget=CLSID\{888DCA60-FC0A-11CF-8F0F-00C04FD7D062}

Then she said to being up the Event Viewer (eventvwr). There were a lot of error and she was going to help me get rid of them.

Since I have two PC’s up at the same time, I did the same commands on the other box. It has the same ZFSendToTarget value.

I told her she was a scammer and put her on hold. She eventually hung up. Be careful for this scam. It almost appears to be legit, except Microsoft would likely never call.

Do you have the same ZFSendToTarget value?

[razztazz]

No errors on eventvwr but the other stuff was --EXACTLY--as in yours. ZFSendToTarget=CLSID\{888DCA60-FC0A-11CF-8F0F-00C04FD7D062}

[Senator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by razztazz No errors on eventvwr...

It may take a while to populate the report. It's under "Custom Views" and Administrative Events.

[tfudtuckerpucker]

If they called me, I would have had a little fun with them.

that's an old scheme

[easysurfer]

Scam all the way. Especially since she did the cold calling.

I'm sure the CMD and fake id number was to gain your trust.

[clfdallas]

We used to get these calls all the time and we only have Apple machines. Used to confuse the scammers when I told them that.

[Chuckanut]

They use the event viewer to scare people. Every computer has lots of problem 'events'. The operating system deals with them and moves on. It's purely a scare tactic, sort of like those people who tell you that a certain food contains dihydrogen monoxide. That's water.

[sengsational]

I might buy one of these answering bots, just for fun.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut They use the event viewer to scare people. Every computer has lots of problem 'events'. The operating system deals with them and moves on. It's purely a scare tactic, sort of like those people who tell you that a certain food contains dihydrogen monoxide. That's water.

Yes, every computer has errors, even Macs. This is a new angle I haven't heard before. Very clever.

And Chuckanut, be careful that that DHMO! Thousands of people die from this colorless, oderless and dangerous chemical every year. Be careful! Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division - dihydrogen monoxide info

[rbmrtn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senator Do you have the same ZFSendToTarget value?

Yes all windows users do. It is an old scam

The command "assoc" just list the file associations on the computer.

The zsendtotarget is part of zip implementation in windows to send files to a compressed folder. It shows up in your "send to" menu. They probably pick that because it is usually the last one listed and easy to see

command lines is scary

[kyzymurgist]

Be careful "Having fun" with the scammer. I tried that and was then harassed with repeated phone calls for the next week. At one point I tried a bit of levity with my new 'friend' and was told in a pleasant Indian accent..."I am not your friend. I am your enemy". He eventually got bored.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

[chris2008]

I tell them in a monotonous voice 'your call is recorded and forwarded to the police fraud dept.'
They hang up quickly.

[CountryGal]

I had this happen to me about 7 years ago. They are VERY convincing. Fortunately I told them I was unable to get to that computer and would have to call them back. I then called a friend who talked me down. I was having some issues which made it more believable. I was in IT and typically don't fall for scammers, but they were good. I reported it to our on site microsoft rep who had not heard of it before and reported up the chain.

[athena53]

Last time I got a call from "Tech Support" I told them in a confused tone that I didn't own a computer. That got them off the line fast!

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 Last time I got a call from "Tech Support" I told them in a confused tone that I didn't own a computer. That got them off the line fast!

I got a call from ATT trying to sell me upgraded service. I told them that I didn't have a phone.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senator I just got off the phone with a “representative from Microsoft”. She said she has been getting errors from my machine. I told her she was a scammer, and almost hung up. She gave me a Microsoft phone number and an employee ID.

What 'Microsoft phone number' did she give? One on a Microsoft website (that anyone could provide)? Did you hang up and call her back on an official Microsoft number?

What did you do with her 'employee ID'? How would you have any idea if that was legit?

Quote:

.ZFSendToTarget=CLSID\{888DCA60-FC0A-11CF-8F0F-00C04FD7D062} Do you have the same ZFSendToTarget value?

Well, most everyone here does:

I received a call from someone claiming to be Microsoft. - Microsoft Community


Did you really think for one instant this was not a scam?

-ERD50

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountryGal ... I was in IT and typically don't fall for scammers, but they were good. ...

Please explain how any cold call about computer problems could be convincing? Isn't that just a red, red, red flag that it is a scam?

Has anyone ever heard of Microsoft just calling people, unsolicited, to help with some specific computer problem?

-ERD50

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senator ....Do you have the same ZFSendToTarget value?

Yes, and please stop using my computer.

[easysurfer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris2008 I tell them in a monotonous voice 'your call is recorded and forwarded to the police fraud dept.' They hang up quickly.

Though I don't talk to the scammers, I hear the "What are you wearing?" line gets them to hang up too .

[CountryGal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Has anyone ever heard of Microsoft just calling people, unsolicited, to help with some specific computer problem? -ERD50

In my case, they claimed to be a company that Microsoft hired to fix these problems. I was told that my computer had a virus that was sending out some kind of data and my computer would be blocked if it was not fixed (after 7 years some of the details are a bit fuzzy).

while I am used to dealing with scammers through email, getting a personal phone call is a little unnerving in itself. If I recall correctly, they were very persistent and had an urgent tone that the problem must be fixed immediately. When hit cold and out of the blue, you need to make a quick decision whether it is real or not. In hindsight this is an old well known scam, so it is easier to make a call.