'Your computer has a virus' cold call con artists on the rise: Microsoft

[steve2470]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/04/23/tech_support_scams_on_the_rise/

Microsoft has released stats showing that tech support scams are on the increase, with 153,000 complaints received and 15 per cent of complainants losing cold, hard cash.

For those who have been fortunate enough not to be subject to one, a tech support scam is typically where a ne'er-do-well will call up a user, usually claiming to be from Microsoft, and talk the victim through a number of steps that will result in something scary happening on the user’s screen and a fee being paid to resolve the ‘problem’.

Microsoft has published statistics from its own customer services team showing complaints up 24 per cent on 2016’s figures, with users who actually paid up losing between $200 and $400.

Among the people from 183 countries that ran to Microsoft with complaints was one unfortunate Dutch user that lost €89,000 after a scammer was able to empty their bank accounts.

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Needless to say, do not EVER engage with anyone from "Microsoft" (unless you want to troll them hard). The only exception to this is if you know, for a fact 100%, you are actually talking to someone from Microsoft because you are PAYING them for a support call. It used to be $35 per support incident but I'm sure that has gone up now. To even get to that service, I think you must go here first:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/contact/virtual-agent/?flowId=smc-home-hero&referrer=support.microsoft.com

You jump through all the virtual hoops there and you can either wait for a phone call or schedule one.

eta:

Am I entitled to no-charge support when I purchase a full packaged product?

Microsoft no-charge support (also known ‘warranty’ support) applies to full packaged products targeted at the home user as well as desktop applications (such as Microsoft Office), desktop operating systems (such as Microsoft Windows) and developer tools (including Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and MSDN Subscriptions). You may be eligible for assisted support in the form of two telephone or online support incidents at no charge.

With Microsoft Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010 you may be eligible to 90-day no-charge assisted support. This no-charge support begins from the date you activate the product.

To check your entitlement, telephone your local support centre, or submit your technical support incident online via the Microsoft Support Site. You can also visit the Support Website for information about Microsoft support offerings and self-help support resources.

These resources are designed to carry the minimum level of jargon.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/gp/nochargefaq/en-gb