Hang up immediately: Incorrect Microsoft support makes data easy
Rip-off calls from alleged Microsoft technical support employees are by no means new. However, the scam is used again and again with changing phone numbers, because fraudsters can be quite sure that there is a Windows computer in almost every household.
Don’t believe the fairy tales
This is the psychological door opener for the criminals when they falsely claim, for example, that the computer of the called party or the called party is virus-infected or licenses for Microsoft products have allegedly expired. There are no limits to the imagination here.
No matter what callers say or what is written in messages that you receive: Microsoft does not call or send e-mails without the consent of its customers, the consumer advocates explain. It also does not ask for personal data on the phone, certainly no bank data.
If someone does not hang up right away, the criminals have already achieved a partial success. Because they want to involve the called people in a conversation and keep them on the line. Not only to get sensitive information, but also to get your victim to install remote maintenance software. At the same time, they also do not shy away from threats, but one should not be intimidated by them in any case.
Once such a remote maintenance software is on the computer, it is possible for the fraudsters to activate and control it: they can install malware such as Trojans, skim data and lock or encrypt the device in order to extort money from the user for the release. Therefore, according to the consumer center, the following applies: do not download anything, do not install anything – neither on computers, nor on tablets or smartphones.
Anyone who has disclosed data or installed software should report the fraud case to the police, the consumer advocates advise. It is important that the name of the alleged caller, the name of the (alleged) company, date and time as well as the alleged reason for the call and the telephone number of the caller have been recorded.
With the same information, nuisance calls, but also unauthorized advertising calls can and should be reported to the Federal Network Agency. This can block phone numbers, for example, or impose penalties on companies.
