Microsoft calling me: is this legit?

[brewer12345]

I just got off the phone with someone obviously in a call center with a thick Indian accent claiming to represent Microsoft/Windows Technical support. He claimed that I have some kind of issue with my internet gateway (?) and downloading malicious files. I could not get them to confirm that this is a legit support call via a callback number or anything else and when I asked for a supervisor he said they would have to call back. Years in an institutional computing environment have made me very suspicious of phishing and social engineering attempts. How do I tell if this is legit and I do have a problem?

 

[ChiliPepr]

I am 99.999% sure that this is not legit and you do not have a problem... This is a new scam that has been going on.

 

[brewer12345]

Looks like a scam: “I am calling you from Windows”: A tech support scammer dials Ars Technica | Ars Technica

Well, there is an unexpected bonus from being in a giant bureaucracy that is attacked thousands of times a day. I am now very hard to scam on this stuff. Guess I was paying attention to all those IT security trainings.

 

[TOOLMAN]

Got the same scam call. It's a scam. Google "microsoft calling from india"
DW played stupid about computers and kept them on the phone for 30 min, then said I'm done playing with you, and hung up. Seems to be the only way to fight back is to waste their time.

 

[Texas Proud]

I am 99.999% sure that this is not legit and you do not have a problem... This is a new scam that has been going on.

+1... I got a call like that maybe a year ago.... I hung up on the guy since there is NO way Microsoft knows how to get in touch with me except by email...

 

[Ready]

He calls me all the time Brewer. It's a pretty well known scam. Funny thing is my house is all Macintosh, but he still insists I have a Windows problem. He's obviously not very bright.

 

[W2R]

Scam, scam, scam.

On the other hand, a scam attempt like this can provide a great reminder to update and run one's anti-virus and Malwarebytes.

 

[brewer12345]

What a bunch of scumbags. All the things I missed being at work all day...

 

[Redbugdave]

I always talk like I am from India when I get those type of calls. I ask them if they have a sister I could marry, and how I miss Calcutta. If it's a woman...I ask is she married or if she has an unmarried sister. Sometimes I can keep them on the phone for awhile. Ahhhh...the smells of Calcutta...

 

[bbbamI]

Got the same scam call. It's a scam. Google "microsoft calling from india"
DW played stupid about computers and kept them on the phone for 30 min, then said I'm done playing with you, and hung up. Seems to be the only way to fight back is to waste their time.

I did the same thing....except after I told him I was done playing, I emitted words so vulgar they're still floating around in outer space.

I hate scammers with a passion.

 

[powerplay]

I receive this scam call fairly frequently. One day I was in a mood to play with him so I kept going on and on. He had my name and address and read the address off in a strange way which ensures he is not familiar with US addresses at all. I told him he was wrong and he yelled at me, DON'T LIE!! Well look who's talking here. He also used profanity and cussed at me. Finally he hung up on me! These guys are really swell! I wish I knew how to stop these infuriating calls.

It appears they are trying to get us to go to their website and give them control over our computer so they can 'fix' the problem. They then hold you ransom and demand money to fix the problem they just created.

 

[brewer12345]

They actually called back. DW picked up the phone, told them off, threatened to sic the FCC on them (waste of time, IMO), and then blocked their number from further calls.

 

[gromit]

I hung up on this very same scam a while back. Microsoft doesn't reach through an ISP connection and onto a wifi network that should be encrypted and password protected, to figure out that the individual's pc has some problem. Microsoft doesn't "monitor" anything, they sell software.
I especially like the "I am calling you from Windows", a product, not a company...maybe I should've been scared it was the blue screen of death calling and I was next, lol.

 

[MRG]

Know several folks that got the same calll.
MRG

 

[Chuckanut]

If you're lucky they will just take your money for doing nothing, since there is nothing wrong with your computer setup. If you are unlucky, they will plant some type of key-logger to record your passwords, and maybe even turn your computer into a BOT that they can control to do even more criminal activities.

You were wise to throw them under the bus.

 

[scrabbler1]

Brewer, I got a call from them today (the first time I ever got one) at about the same time your post appeared (nearly 2 hours ago). I smelled a scam as soon as the caller with the heavy accent said he was calling from the Microsoft Technical Center or whatever place. I just said, "NO!" and hung up. As tempting it is to toy with these morons and waste their time, I have no real desire to do so.

 

[REWahoo]

I just got a call, not from Microsoft, but from a friend who had been on the phone with "someone from Yahoo" who she had given online access to her computer to solve a log-in problem. Unfortunately she wasn't aware of these statements on the Yahoo help page:

How to know that you are working with Yahoo

• Yahoo will never request a fee to reset a password or to assist with technical, abuse, or account compromise concerns.
• Yahoo will never request to remote connect to your computer system for a support related request.

She called stopped short of giving him her CC number to pay to fix the problem and called to ask me if I thought she should.

Sad thing is it probably doesn't matter - he probably already has all he needs to steal her identity.

 

[MichaelB]

I got that Microsoft call a couple of weeks ago. Blocked caller ID, bad connection, a certain echo I recall from my early days with VOIP. When they said it was MS calling I laughed so hard the guy got angry with me.

I won't give info over the phone to anyone unless I make the first contact and feel badly for folks that do.

 

[Dreamer]

I have not received any of these phone calls and had not heard of them. I do not answer my phone if it shows private caller or is a phone number that I don't know. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

 

[aja8888]

How do I tell if this is legit and I do have a problem?

Next time, ask him if you need a credit card. If he says yes, tell him to wait a minute until you get your stack of Target cards so he can pick one.

 

[FUEGO]

Just ask oh really? What IP address are these issues originating from?

99.9999% chance they're just phishing.


A tip on weird calls. Occasionally I'll get a call from somewhere that claims to have a business relationship with me. When they ask me to give my name, SS # and phone number for verification purposes, I'll usually botch some numbers here and there throughout the process just to see if they actually already have all the information. If they don't call me on wrong address, phone #, and SS number, then they are just phishing.

Authenticate the authenticators without them knowing you are authenticating them.

/tinfoil off

 

[rbmrtn]

I just got off the phone with someone obviously in a call center with a thick Indian accent claiming to represent Microsoft/Windows Technical support. He claimed that I have some kind of issue with my internet gateway (?) and downloading malicious files. I could not get them to confirm that this is a legit support call via a callback number or anything else and when I asked for a supervisor he said they would have to call back. Years in an institutional computing environment have made me very suspicious of phishing and social engineering attempts. How do I tell if this is legit and I do have a problem?

Most definitely not legit. My mother got one of these calls last year, funny since she doesn't even have a PC. I played with them on phone for while. They ask you to open some folders and then claim all files are viruses. Like all the files in the prefetch folder.

Ask them what IP address of your gateway is, then tell them you use linux.

Also why would MS tech support be calling you unless have a paid support contract.

 

[RunningBum]

I get these calls every once in awhile. One day I decided to have some fun and shouted into the phone "PROBLEM WITH MY COMPUTER?!? OMIGOD!! PLEASE FIX IT PHIL (or whatever Americanized name he gave)!! I'll pay ANYTHING to get it fixed!! You have to help me!!"

He didn't fall for it and asked why I was being so obnoxious, so I told him to do something not anatomically possible, and traded a few insults for a couple minutes, then hung up.

 

[kyounge1956]

hmmmm....I got a phone call the other day from someone claiming I had registered with their website and now I had a chance to be entered in some sweepstakes or other. I asked where they had gotten my phone number from, because the only thing I had registered for recently was a system software upgrade from Apple that I had just installed. The person who called said she didn't have that information, just that I had registered. I'm not interested in sweepstakes so I asked her to take my number off the list and not call again. Now I wonder if this was a scam rather than just a nuisance call.

And I am really ticked off at Apple if they are the ones who gave my number to these clowns.

 

[baligrandpa]

Be aware that there's no way for anybody who does not have access to your computer to know if there's a problem with it. If an anonymous caller says otherwise, it's a bluff.