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Telephone Scam

Alleged Microsoft partner says your computer is about to crash.

We want to let all our customers know that there is a telephone scam that is very common currently in our area. The caller will state that they are a "Microsoft Partner" and they have detected that your computer is about to crash and is causing problems on the Internet. They will ask you to navigate to a website and allow them a connection directly to your computer. Once in, they will allegedly scan your machine for problems and then show you a "list" of major problems. What the list consists of is many possible "errors" that could be generated. This list is not from the "scan" but transferred to your computer from them to scare you. Everyone gets the same list.

They will now offer you a "repair" service that will cost anywhere from $300 to $500. At this point they will start manipulating the machine to make it behave strangely to convince you that the machine is going to fail. You are now infected! What they have done behind the scenes is install a VPN (virtual private network) to allow them access to your PC whenever it is on. They have full access to all your files and functions of the machine. We have been called by a few customers who were led to believe that this call was from Microsoft. They allowed the scammers access to the PC. After refusing to pay any money, the computers began to act strangely. The screen would rotate 180 degrees, files would disappear, web browsers would only search to strange website and so on. The scammers would call back and try to get them to pay for service. This is extortion!

The scammers do not know who you are! They call random numbers and hope to get someone who will believe them. Once they get a person to allow them access, they track the phone number against the VPN installed to see who has paid the ransom and who has not so they can harass them. If you let them connect, they now know who you are from your files! If you have any personal information stored on the PC such as Social Security Numbers, Credit Card Numbers etc… we would suggest you keep an eye on your credit report for any strange activity.

If you do receive one of the calls, tell them not to call again and that you will report them to the Attorney General and the local police. They will probably call again, if you have caller ID just don't answer the call. They are very persistent and rude when you don't play along. We have spoken with these people at the request of a customer and they are very practiced liars. In the event you have been infected by these scammers, we can remove the VPN and associated infections from your PC. Just give us a call! If there is anything  else we can help you with on your PC, MAC, Smartphone, tablet, printer, router, any computer need please don't hesitate to call.