Avoiding Microsoft Technical Support Scams
As you may be aware there are many cybercriminals out there that don’t just send fraudulent email messages. We are currently seeing a round of scam calls that are claiming to be from Microsoft.
In this scam cybercriminals claim to be from Microsoft Technical Support. They may even spoof the caller ID, so it displays a legitimate support phone number from a trusted company and they offer their assistance to help solve your computer problems.
Please be aware that Microsoft do not make unsolicited phones call to help resolve computer issues. If you receive an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft Tech Support, hang up.
How to protect yourself from tech support scams
If someone claiming to be from Microsoft tech support contacts you:
- Do not purchase any software or services.
- Ask if there is a fee or subscription associated with the “service.” If there is, hang up.
- Never give control of your computer to a third party unless you can confirm that it is a legitimate representative of a computer support team with whom you are already a customer.
- Take the person’s information down and immediately report it to your local authority.
- Never provide your credit card or financial information to someone claiming to be from Microsoft Technical Support.
What to do if you already gave information to a tech support person
If you think that you might have downloaded malware from a tech support scam website or allowed a cybercriminal to access your computer, take these steps:
- Change your computer’s password, change the password on your main email account, and change the password for any financial accounts, especially your bank and credit card.
- Scan your computer with a malware scanner to find out if you have malware installed on your computer.
If you think you may have been effected by this scam or any other scam please do not hesitate to get in touch and we can provide a healthcheck on your machine and network.