Windows Support Scam - I was called by someone who said they were windows support and my computer was sending them warnings and messages!

Anonymous
2012-03-06T00:43:31+00:00

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.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Security and privacy

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.

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Anonymous
2012-03-06T13:28:12+00:00

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.

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Anonymous
2015-06-17T14:10:03+00:00

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!

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Anonymous
2015-02-14T22:31:45+00:00

@ 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

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-08-20T03:52:48+00:00

    Today, while composing a gmail suddenly my curser became a tool to black out my emails and everything in the gmail box/window.  When I moved my cursor outside of the gmail box then the cursor stopped blotching everything in black.  Naturally, like all good very amateur computer users, soonafter I rebooted my computer...but the problem still continued a little bit then stopped.   I have Norton antivirus program...the premier edition but it did not detect/warn me of this problem.

     So, then about 15 mins later, I get a phone call (caller ID displayed a name starting with Jeffrey... he probably stole this name from some innocent person)  he requested to talk to the 'owner' of my phone line. He was annoyed and talked to me like I was stupid when I asked questions about who he was and how did I know if he was legit.  He then made the same pitch/comments that others have noted above..."I am from Windows Operating System and we have detected malware that is duplicating rapidly and is doing damage and will spread".   When I started asking him questions the guy became more impatient/irriated!  Another clue something was wrong.  Then I asked him for his name, his company phone, City and State...he said in his thickly accented, I think Asian, voice I am Daniel Higgins (for the real Daniel Higgins....I think your name was hijacked for this scam). I asked him for his office number, city and state. He then gave me a 800 # , said he was in California..and he mumbled an undiscernable city with much annoyance.  Later, I did call the 800# and learned, of course, that there was no such Daniel Higgins there, and that there was no IT people who fix computers there. In fact the guy who answer seemed a bit grumpy and got to the point right away and quickly hung up. 

    Later, after speaking to our office IT person it was suggested to run my antivirus- anti-malware programs and then restart the computer.  This thoughtful IT person also  provided a Microsoft Security Scanner program link to download & run....which I've done....and which the final report indicated  there were no viruses or malware found.   

    I was concerned how this guy not only accessed my computer but also,  got my phone number after going on my computer.  The IT guy from work said they look for vulnerabilities on the computer and find an IP address then are able to trace it to a home phone.  Thankfully, all the advice from those who educate the public about warnings signs of scams came to the forefront.    But I still wonder, since they accessed my computer once...will/can they do it again! What other steps can I take?  AND has he planted a virus or malware?  Could he read my email? And lastly, why didn't my Norton program detect him....is it because he stayed in the gmail box/window?

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