Help call from Microsoft

[GermanPCBuilder]

Just a moment ago I received a call from a female Microsoft technician. It was a number from the Netherlands ( 00 31....)  and I live in germany, the woman spoke English but the connection was very bad, she wanted to inform me that my computer had a virus and she wanted to help me repair it or something. 

I only got to pick up the phone at the 3 time they called me. This seems very suspicious to me, she even wanted to proof it that she was real because she said she had my windows product key and she new my last name. 

Has something like this happend to you before? What should I do?

 

Edit: She also said they received a lot of error messages from my computer 

[Hunter115]

probaly scam

[PenPoint]

Never. That surely also looks quite suspicious to me. Why don't you contact Microsoft Deutsch headquarter?

[A Silver]

Defiantly a scam. If you are really concerned contact Microsoft customer services.

[leelaa14]

8 minutes ago, PenPoint said:

Never. That surely also looks quite suspicious to me. Why don't you contact Microsoft Deutsch headquarter?

Is this woman's voice pakistani? If so then you can bet your ass it's a scam. And those error messages are fine. Let me guess, she showed you those messages in event viewer? Bastards scammed my Grandad, couldn't believe it when he phoned me telling me he paid microsoft over the phone. Bastards.

Edit, quoted wrong person, sorry haha.

[DHelios]

That's definitely a scam. They've probably collected a small amount of information about you from some hack or leak, and are using the call to try and social-engineer more out of you.

 

These calls usually lead to the 'Microsoft engineer' asking permission to remote access your computer. From there they'll do some pseudo-technical things before recommending you purchase some software or service that will supposedly fix your supposed problem. Alternatively, they may use your system access to collect additional (financial) data or to encrypt your data and have you pay to get it back.

 

It's sadly a common thing, which means that sadly, people fall for it. I've had to deal professionally with victims of such scams, and it's not pretty.

 

Spoiler

Alternatively, there are some tech-savvy people on YouTube who intentionally seek contact with these scammers. They either want to just waste the scammer's time, or try to get a laugh out of seeing how the scammers react to strange situations, such as their remote access leading them into a virtual machine running Windows 95. The YouTubers will then pretend to be tech-illiterate, while the scammers are confused as to what kind of computer they've ended up on.

 

[GrantW]

As the others say, its a scam.

 

Microsoft would not care if you  have a virus. ( Nor me, nor anybody) lol. 

[Beef Boss]

2 minutes ago, DHelios said:

 

  Hide contents

Alternatively, there are some tech-savvy people on YouTube who intentionally seek contact with these scammers. They either want to just waste the scammer's time, or try to get a laugh out of seeing how the scammers react to strange situations, such as their remote access leading them into a virtual machine running Windows 95. The YouTubers will then pretend to be tech-illiterate, while the scammers are confused as to what kind of computer they've ended up on.

 

I love youtubers that do those videos. Sadly one got a community guidelines strike

[bigneo]

Would you not troll with them on the phone and act completely stupid. Like press microwave buttons and pretend that is your computer. I think I heard a counter-prank call like that before, hilarious. Make sure to record the call if you do and have fun

[AkiraDaarkst]

17 minutes ago, GermanPCBuilder said:

Just a moment ago I received a call from a female Microsoft technician. It was a number from the Netherlands ( 00 31....)  and I live in germany, the woman spoke English but the connection was very bad, she wanted to inform me that my computer had a virus and she wanted to help me repair it or something. 

I only got to pick up the phone at the 3 time they called me. This seems very suspicious to me, she even wanted to proof it that she was real because she said she had my windows product key and she new my last name. 

Has something like this happend to you before? What should I do?

 

Edit: She also said they received a lot of error messages from my computer 

Have you been living in the Stone Age for the past several years?  This kind of scam has been going on for a while and everyone knows (or should know) it's a scam.

 

Do a Google search, there are stories about people giving those scammers a taste of their own medicine or leading them along to hilarious results.

[GermanPCBuilder]

10 minutes ago, leelaa14 said:

Is this woman's voice pakistani? If so then you can bet your ass it's a scam. And those error messages are fine. Let me guess, she showed you those messages in event viewer? Bastards scammed my Grandad, couldn't believe it when he phoned me telling me he paid microsoft over the phone. Bastards.

Edit, quoted wrong person, sorry haha.

I didn't even turn my pc on because I didn't want them to be "in it" 

 

 

for all the others thank you.

[DHelios]

1 minute ago, bigneo said:

Like press microwave buttons and pretend that is your computer.

The IT Crowd comes to mind...

 

"Uh, the button turns it on?"
"Yeah. You-- You do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes..."
"No, no, there you go. There you go, I just heard it come on."

"No, no, that's the music you hear when it comes on."
"That's the music you hear-- I'm sorry, are you from the past?"

[Alesek]

2 minutes ago, GermanPCBuilder said:

I didn't even turn my pc on because I didn't want them to be "in it" 

 

 

for all the others thank you.

 

[leelaa14]

3 minutes ago, GermanPCBuilder said:

I didn't even turn my pc on because I didn't want them to be "in it" 

 

 

for all the others thank you.

My bad, I misread, thought you wrote you seen a lot of error messages.
She would of took you in to event viewer, where there are plenty of error messages, which is normal. And then would of tried to sell you some software to "fix" those error messages.
 

[mikeeginger]

It's a Scam just block the number and move on with your life 

[itsnippets]

Microsoft have far too many customers to give a rats rectum about you personal problems.. and even if they didn't they would wait for you to call them so they could price gouge you not call you at home.

[Bsmith]

microsoft can't read your systems data like that from a distance, that would be illegal by both EU and the netherlands law, 10/10 scam.

[GermanPCBuilder]

They just called us again, I was too late to pick the call up. If they call again I will try something with my microwave buttons.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, GermanPCBuilder said:

They just called us again, I was too late to pick the call up. If they call again I will try something with my microwave buttons.

Troll them

 

[DexterSmythe]

2 hours ago, GermanPCBuilder said:

Just a moment ago I received a call from a female Microsoft technician. It was a number from the Netherlands ( 00 31....)  and I live in germany, the woman spoke English but the connection was very bad, she wanted to inform me that my computer had a virus and she wanted to help me repair it or something. 

I only got to pick up the phone at the 3 time they called me. This seems very suspicious to me, she even wanted to proof it that she was real because she said she had my windows product key and she new my last name. 

Has something like this happend to you before? What should I do?

 

Edit: She also said they received a lot of error messages from my computer 

Your computer would tell you if it detected errors, not Microsoft support. If you were not called from this number 1 (800) 642-7676, which is the real Microsoft support than it is spam.

[WkdPaul]

12 minutes ago, CapedCrusader21 said:

Your computer would tell you if it detected errors, not Microsoft support. If you were not called from this number 1 (800) 642-7676, which is the real Microsoft support than it is spam.

Phone numbers can be spoofed, so even if it's from that number, it's a scam.

 

Microsoft isn't going to call for a virus, that's not how it works.

 

[arbellason55]

Just hit them with the good old, "Whats a webpage? Is that something ducks walk on?".

[spellmanuk]

its a scam for sure

[NumLock21]

Troll them with a type writer.

[GermanPCBuilder]

Just now, NumLock21 said:

Troll them with a type writer.

Do you know something that sounds like one, I dont have one on hand right now.