14 DAY TRIAL // Scams in which an alleged Windows technician calls to say that your computer is sending error messages to them are not new, but it seems they will never get old. Norman experts reveal that in some cases the scammers will call even 5 times a day trying to convince their victims to purchase so-called cleaning/repair products.
The name of the department in which the crooks pretend to work changes from one situation to the other, but in most cases it has something to do with Microsoft or Windows.
“Windows Technical Care Department”, “Windows Service Department”, and “Windows-certified support agent” are just some of the variants used in these plots.
Of course, tech-savvy users are well aware that Microsoft never calls its customers out of the blue, and neither do security solutions providers. That’s why when you receive a call from someone who tells you to access a certain site and download a piece of software, you can be certain that you have become the target of scam artists.
In recent instances, victims have been asked to install the LogMeIn application to give the crooks an easy access to the device. LogMeIn is certainly not a malicious program, but combined with social engineering, it can turn into a dangerous tool.
The folks over at Norman offer some great advice to those who want to combat such crimes. Naturally, the first thing you must do is file a report with the authorities, but there’s something else you can do to discourage such calls.
You can act like you are willing to comply with their demands, but act as if you’re not really that good with computers. After a few hours of talking to someone who’s rather clumsy, the fraudsters may start to think that it would be more effective for them to get a real job.
Take a look at a few examples here.