When someone who identifies him/herself as a representative from Microsoft calls you out of the blue, be wary. A new scam involves people posing as Microsoft employees and scaring victims into paying for bogus service and giving up credit information, by telling them that their system has been infected by a virus or that it’s running too slowly.
You have to give it to scammers for constantly finding new ways to victimize people. One such new scam has been making the rounds recently, and more than a few people have fallen for it. This particular modus operandi involves a person calling you claiming to be from Microsoft customer support, and insisting that you have a virus or that you need to install a certain program to help speed up your system.
Actually, Microsoft will NEVER call you up unless you ask them to. And when they do call, they will not ask for credit or personal information, and they will always have a support reference number assigned to you– which you should already have beforehand from filing a report or request for support from Microsoft. While it’s possible that Microsoft MIGHT call you unsolicited if they have a new promotion or products, but they’ll NEVER call to alert you regarding the status of your computer system.
Knowing scammers, it’s highly likely that you’ll see this scam applied in various forms in the near future – a call from your bank, credit consultant, or even IT support. The best thing is to have the proper security protocols in place so you can verify the identity of the people who will call you, as well as keep your system safe.
Having the proper security system in place will do wonders for your business – not to mention your peace of mind. And it’s not just in terms of hardware or software: don’t discount the human factor as well. Please give us a call if you’d like to know more, and we’ll be happy to discuss a security system that’s tailor fit for your specific needs.
Published on 19th September 2012 by Jeanne DeWitt.
