I can never post too many scam alerts. Call telling you your computer is haveing network issues? Telemareting (212)235-7318.
Well I was the recipient over the weekend of one of these calls and just to make it completely public this is was the number that called me 212-235-7318. Well this is the upshot of the type of call they made. Hi… My name is John and I am a Microsoft Network Engineer. I noticed that your computer is reporting network errors…… On the first call I told the caller what he was doing was illegal and that using scare tactics is a poor way to gain customers….Click yes he hung up. Second call half hour later I was partially asleep so I sounded out of it and told him he was correct my computer was having all sorts of errors but I was not where I could talk so I asked for a call back number …. 212-235-7318 was his response. I rang it and the same person John answered. I hung up. Third call he once again identified himself as John and told me my computer had all sorts of errors so I told him I was concerned. I asked him to identify which of my 100 computers was the one having the issue. He said what? I said please tell me which computer had the issue so I could correctly work with him. He hung up and did not call back. Lesson to be taught here is when someone contacts you about your specific computer having issues and you did not contact them yourself
- Ask questions. Asking questions shows your an intelligent person on the line and may not be a good target for a scammer.
- Ask the caller to identify specifics about the computer in question. If he responds why tell him you have several and need to know which one he is getting errors from.
- Ask for his name, call back number and company name.
- Ask how he got your number, you may even ask if he knows your name. This may help identify the source of the call list.
- Do not allow access to your computer remotely from one of these callers. The results is always similar they will connect run some type of program and tell you your computer is infected. Understand I am not saying remote support is bad, we do this for many of our customers but we do not call and scare people into our buying our service.
- Be careful when searching for tech support as many companies buy ad space based on keywords like Microsoft Support, Yahoo Help Desk, Virus Removal etc.. If the results is near the very top of the first page it is most likely a paid ad. Also inspect the link for the search if you are trying to get to Microsoft in most cases the word Microsoft will appear near the “wwww” this is not always the case but it is more the norm. (see below).
- Do not become a victom, do not just give out a credit card do these marketing companies, if you think they are legitimate then do some research before buying their support.
Google Search for Microsoft Support.
Notice in the picture above the results for Microsoft Support you will even see violations of my earlier suggestion in many cases Microsoft is part of the link but several are listed as Ads in yellow. In this case the real Microsoft Web Site is support.microsoft.com. So when searching for assistance be careful and trust that instinct if it does not feel right look for a better option.
Additional scam info fake antivirus attacks are still very common and seem to be coming in very sneaky packages. According to ComputerWorld more of these software attacks are coming in Google Play and the Windows Phone Store. So take a good look at this article to see some of the warnings being issued by CW.
More fake antivirus apps pop up in Google Play, Windows Phone Store
Mobile app stores lack the necessary mechanisms to prevent such scams, researchers from Kaspersky Lab said
Try to safe on the internet.
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