Microsoft Phone Scam

Recently we have had several clients contact us because they received a suspicious phone call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft. The caller continued on to say that they were calling from “the Microsoft Windows Support” and that the computer was compromised. I’m grateful that our clients were wise and hung up on these callers.

Ryan did a little research and we found this information http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2011/jun11/06-16MSPhoneScamPR.mspx

The following is Microsoft’s advice and we recommend the same information:

•	Be suspicious of unsolicited calls related to a security problem, even if they claim to represent a respected company.
•	Never provide personal information, such as credit card or bank details, to an unsolicited caller.
•	Do not go to a website, type anything into a computer, install software or follow any other instruction from someone who calls out of the blue.
•	Take the caller’s information down and pass it to the authorities.
•	Use up-to-date versions of Windows and application software.
•	Make sure security updates are installed regularly.
•	Use a strong password and change it regularly.
•	Make sure the firewall is turned on and that antivirus software is installed and up to date.