On Tue, 3 Jun 2014 16:45:34 +0000, Loupcoeur wrote:
Also, I was receiving phone calls from foreign strangers claiming to be the "Microsoft Technical Company". How they got my phone number
They dial phone numbers at random. That's how they got yours.
and knew that my "computer is having problems"
They didn't know that. They say that to everyone they call.
makes me extremely uncomfortable, on top of the fact that their instructions seemed more likely to get them into my computer, as opposed to helping the actual problem.
Yep! It is a scam, and with various names and phone numbers, one that
has become very common lately. See
http://www.troyhunt.com/2012/08/virus-scams-social-engineering-victims.html
and
http://www.howtogeek.com/176605/tell-your-relatives-no-microsoft-wont-call-you-about-your-computer/
and
http://www.howtogeek.com/180514/the-%e2%80%9ctech-support%e2%80%9d-scammers-called-htg-so-we-had-fun-with-them/
Besides their getting money from you for doing nothing of any value,
if you let them into your computer, who knows what they did there or
what confidential information they stole.
So if you did, I highly recommend that you do both of the following
immediately:
- Do a clean reinstallation of Windows.
- Change all of your passwords, especially any for banks or other
financial sites.