The Young Adult's Guide to Identity Theft: A Step-by-Step Guide to Stopping Scammers by Myra Faye Turner

Author:Myra Faye Turner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
Published: 2016-11-21T16:09:37+00:00

Phone Thieves

Have you, or someone you know, ever received a phone call claiming they are from Microsoft technical support? This is a phishing scam. The scammer will claim you have an issue with your computer. They will then try to trick you into giving them remote access so they can fix the problem.

They may sound legit because they refer to you by name, but do not be fooled. You can be sure they got your name and number by some other means. Every few weeks I receive a call from one of these bozos. Most of the time I ignore calls from numbers that I do not recognize. But sometimes I will take the call. Here is a typical conversation:

Me (in a bored tone) : Hello

Scammer: Hi, Myra?

Me (still bored) : Yes

Scammer: How are you today?

Me (getting more bored by the minute) : Good

Scammer: Great. This is Greg [or John or Pete or Larry] from Microsoft technical support. I’m calling about your computer. We have detected there is a problem with your computer.

Me: Which computer?

Scammer: Yes, your computer running Windows.

Me: Okay, can you be more specific. I need to know which computer?

Scammer: Yes, yes. We are showing that you have a computer running Windows.

Me (highly annoyed at this point) : Dude, I need you to be more SPE- CI- FIC. I have multiple computers. I NEED TO KNOW WHICH ONE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT! [Yes, at this point I’m screaming.]

Now, “Greg” may realize that I am on to him. He may hang up. If Greg is kind of dense, I may egg him on a bit. When I don’t feel like playing silly games, I let them know right away that I’m not falling for their snow job. Or I will tell them that it isn’t possible that I have an issue with Windows because I am using a Mac or, better still, I am running Ubuntu/Linux.

What happens if you fall for this phishing scam, though? Like most scams, the damage can be devastating. If the scammer gains your trust, they can trick you into installing malicious software. They may ask for your credit card information to bill you for the scam “service” call.

Microsoft warns consumers that they will never “proactively reach out to you to provide unsolicited PC or technical support. Any communication we have with you must be initiated by you.” 19 So unless you have placed the call, no one from Microsoft is going to contact you first. If you receive a call, do yourself a favor — hang up.

The Microsoft scam is popular, but there are many more floating around. Some of the calls people receive are targeted. For example, I receive a ton of scam calls about business loans. Many calls, however, are robocalls. A robocall is a recorded call placed by an automated dialing system. You usually will not speak with a live person, although some will ask you to “hold for the next available representative” or give you the option of pressing a number to speak with someone.

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