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March 5, 2012
Windows Support Scam -
I was called at home by someone who said they were windows support and my computer was sending them warnings and messages!
They asked me to open Eventvwr (Event Viewer) to look at the errors. I was to count the errors and warnings.
Then they wanted me to go to www.support.me (don't go there BTW) and a microsoft certified technician would log into my computer and help me fix the problems.
Obviously a scam
I persisted on asking what company they were:
First they said "Windows Operating System"
Then "Customer Care"
And finally
"Softnet Communications for Windows"
They said the phone number was 209-813-0133 (don't call this BTW) and they were in the United States of California
They never could explain what the warnings and messages were.
Someone needs to stop these guys
--- Update ---
August 8 2015
They called again and gave me the same basic pitch. This time a person with an Indian accent who called him self Kevin said that my computer was calling them because of a massive problem (infection by malware). His company was Technical Support for Windows users and that the R&D group at Microsoft had a program that notified him of the problem. After 5 min he wanted me to go to a web site (please do Not go here and click anything) www.121usahelp.com - which if you look at the web page source code will load TeamViewerQS.exe for windows or TeamViewerQS.bmg for Mac. Do Not Fall for this scam they want you to pay them money and they load software on your computer that is Bad.
Microsoft Please stop these types of scams - they are hurting less skilled users and older people with computers who don't know better.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Hi,
Microsoft will not make unsolicited phone calls to help you with your computer. If you receive a phone call like this, hang up.
If you think you might be a victim of fraud, you can report it. For more information, see What to do if you've responded to a phishing scam.
**For your reference:**Don’t fall for phony phone tech support. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/securitytipstalk/archive/2010/03/09/don-t-fall-for-phony-phone-tech-support.aspx
Hope this information is helpful.
I had a call at 10:00 p.m. last night that my computer was "sending out error messages." The woman had a very foreign accent and told me she was from Windows Support. I immediately went ballistic as I was in bed and told her it was 10:00 P.M.! She said she knew it was late, but this was very, very important. I then told her to take my number out of their system and to not call again and she said quite forcefully that they would continue to call me about the "problem." I told her I was probably 10 times more intelligent than she was, I was very computer literate, there was nothing wrong with my computer, etc., etc., etc. When I asked her where she was at, she replied "Windows Support," but when I told her I wanted to know what country she was calling from, she hung up! I knew it was an obvious scam and called her quite a few choice names during the brief conversation. Probably should have put her on "terminal hold" for the rest of the night!
Hi,
This link is now available :
Report a technical support scam
Rob - SpiritX
Hi,
Email and web scams: How to help protect yourself (includes How to report scams)
http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/phishing-scams.aspx
Hope this helps.
Rob Brown - Microsoft MVP <- profile - Windows Expert - Consumer : Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.
@ climatechangeisreal
I have no idea why that link suddenly doesn't work anymore...
I've asked here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/feedback/forum/fdbk_commsite-feedback_other/why-is-official-msft-link-report-a-scam-broken/7c98c1f7-c788-4f53-8247-0d4b5e6815fb?tm=1423952532535 if somebody knows if it's a temporary glitch or something else...
Thanks for pointing it out :)
J
The scam is ongoing. I got a call this morning from a gentleman with an Indian accent advising me that my computer was sending out warnings. It seems my computer was just teeming with danger and "at risk". I desperately needed a new warranty, three options: one year, three years, or lifetime, for $145, $245 and $345, respectively.
I managed to get the "helpline" number from them and called it using my cellphone. The scrambling around on the other end was kind of hilarious. I told them I would have to call my PC technical support team and ask about the legitimacy of their proposed service, to which they replied that this team was obviously incompetent, having failed to detect these dangerous "things" multiplying on my computer. They said I was being scammed by this team, which was taking my money and not protecting me.
The helpline number I was given is 614-388-9092. It resolves to Columbus, Ohio, but when they were trying frantically to call me back (after I said I was going to call a friend who is one of the financial directors at Microsoft), I saw from my cellphone records that they also use 537-642-9999 and 856-847-6666 (New Jersey). I'm sure this is only a handful of the numbers in their arsenal!
In my last conversation with them, I asked if they felt good about themselves and their business model.
I am surprised Microsoft doesn't take more aggressive action against people like this. After all, they throw Microsoft's name around and imply a special relationship.
