New Phone SCAM and Solutions from Microsoft
 

I was contacted by the Microsoft Support phone number today (800-642-7676). This is the legitimate Microsoft Support phone number. The phone actually showed it as Microsoft. When I answered the call I expected it was about an Office 365 case we were working with them. It was not. It was a recording stating that I should not use my computer for accessing on-line banking and to speak to Microsoft support by either pressing 9 or by calling their number back. I hung the phone up, but because it was the actual correct phone number I did call the Microsoft Support phone number and spoke to a real support person. They told me that Microsoft never makes calls to customers unless the customer has contacted them first and is waiting for a call back. That is the reason it sounded like it could have be a real support call from them.


This Scam is at a new high by using a real companies legitimate phone number to spoof citizens. The things to understand are:

True support companies both software or hardware will never contact you directly via phone.
It is a SCAM, If you get a call from a major company telling you that your computer is giving out error messages or is infected or has been hacked
Always hang the phone up.
Never press a number to contact their support
If you are actually speaking to a person, never give them ANY information, just hang the phone up.
Never call back a number they give you Unless you know that is the companies' real phone number. In the above case it was their real phone number.

The following is information from Microsoft about how to protect your self and your computer from SCAMS


- Check suspicious apps recently installed in control panel.
- Run "Reliability Monitor".
- Disable Startup programs using Task Manager.
- Apply a clean boot. Restart the PC.
- Clear browsing data in: Internet Explorer, Chrome, MS Edge.
- Run a quick/full virus scan.

- View these URLs for Staying safe from call scams:

Windows Community | Connect with Windows Engineers
- Send feedback to Microsoft with Feedback Hub:

Access Denied
- Staying safe from caller ID spoofing:

Staying safe from caller ID spoofing | Windows Community


Staying safe from caller ID spoofing | Windows Community
community.windows.com
Caller ID on your phone helps you see who's calling. But scammers have learned how to trick caller ID. A tactic called "spoofing" makes it look like a real call from a trusted company. Windows engineer Erik Wahlstrom shows how to tell if a call might be spoofed and what you should do if you're getting such a call (subtitles available in 26 languages).



If you have already been the victim of a scam

1. Use the report-a-scam link to make sure the incident has been reported to Microsoft.

2. Read how to remove difficult malware.

3. You can also download Microsoft Safety Scanner to check for possible risks.



To protect yourself from future scams

1. Remember Microsoft and its partners will never contact you to ask you to pay for a PC fix. Additionally, we won't send unsolicited emails requesting personal or financial information.

2. If someone claims to be affiliated with or from Microsoft:

· Ask if there is a fee or subscription associated with the "service".

· Refuse to purchase any software or services.

· Refuse to provide your credit card or financial information unless you initiated the contact.

· Never give control of your PC to another party unless you can confirm it's Microsoft.

· Continue to report all interactions here.

what they mean by here is the Microsoft Support area.

Thanks for the info, but I don't think anyone is going to do all that stuff.

Thank you for the alert, this is a new version of an old scam, and i appreciate the advance notice to be careful.

Just. Hang. Up.

I can top that. We had one call on our landline from Microsoft today which we didn't answer. We then got 3 that showed as coming from our number with my husband's name as the caller. Out of curiosity, I answered the second one which was a recorded message from Microsoft. I promptly hung up. If only the scammers would put their efforts into something useful like getting a real job. I called Comcast to report the issue. All they could offer was to change our number which is not an option. When we got our phone 6 years ago, we had a robocall within 10 minutes of having the number activated. Proves you can run but you can't hide.

I blame the Government. The FCC is supposed to regulate phone providers. All the FCC needs to do is to require all phone providers to use accurate caller ID for all calls. It's their caller ID system, not the scammer's. But, apparently, the providers are making money from the scammers and don't want it to happen.

It is way too easy for scammers to fake the phone numbers, so (IHMO) even if the FCC required accurate phone ID numbers this would not stop the scammers, as no one would be able to take the faked numbers. I do not know the details of the workings of the phone system, but there should be a way to spot phone calls from one number but reporting to be from a different number. This would need to be done at the phone companies.....

I agree. But, if the call is being received through a Verizon system, Verizon has the ability to know where the call is coming from. They have the technology. If their technology provides inaccurate information to their customer on caller ID, then the FCC should fine them or put them out of business. I believe the phone providers are complicit with the scammers. The taxpayers are paying the FCC to regulate phone providers like Verizon, AT&T, and others. Why aren't they doing their job?

Are you retired from ATT or one of the phone companies and have an inside view on how they fix this......or are you just assuming something might be possible? I'm curious because you seem to know they have the technology and are willing to have them put out of business. What would replace them if that happened?

No, I'm just providing an opinion based on common sense. The caller ID screen is produced by the phone provider, not by the scammer. If someone can tell me why the scammers can control the phone provider's signal and caller ID screen, then I may change my mind. It seems to me that phone providers surely know where calls are coming from and going to. Otherwise, how can they charge for long distance calls?

Your understanding of "regulating" is different from the reality of regulation. Anyone can spoof a phone number. ANYONE. It isn't complicated. Technology cannot keep up with the scams, the scammers are always one step ahead. That's their job. To find ways of getting around, through, over, under, and past security. They do it better than anyone else does, which is why they make so much money doing it.

Your job, as a customer, is to be vigilant about your own security. I get calls from fake-microsoft on occasion. If I happen to notice the caller ID on my phone I just don't pick up at all and let it go to voice mail. If I pick up because I prefer not to have the phone ringing, I know what to listen for. If you get that "blurp" sound, don't wait for someone to say anything. Just hang up. It's a bot-call. If you hear background chatter and someone with a foreign accent says anything at all, just hang up. It's a scam of one sort or another. You don't even need to wait to find out what kind of scam it is.

If it seems like it might be legit, ask them for a call-back number and name. Tell them you're in the middle of something and you'll call them right back. If they hang up, you know you just avoided being scammed. If they give you a call back number - don't call it. Instead, go to the internet, google the company's name. Go to their ACTUAL website and seek out the phone number on that website. Call that number, and ask if they called you. This is especially important if the call came from someone claiming to be from your bank.

If they say they're calling about your credit card account - just hang up. It's a fraud.

You can also register with NOMOROBO.com - which minimizes the number of bot-calls you get.

I don't know how to spoof a phone number. How do you do it?

:icon_wink: Don't know how to google either? :1rotfl:

Caller ID Spoofing 101: The Definitive Guide to Call & Text Spoofing

The spoofing 101 site and link to a spoofing app doesn't work. It says "item not found". But, can't the phone providers block the spoofing? It is also illegal to spoof for harmful purposes.

Yes, it's illegal to spoof. Not "for harming purposes." It's illegal to spoof, period. That's one of the things that make this issue a scam. Because people are doing things that are illegal.

Spoofing is also not what you think it is. I'm not doing your homework. You can look this stuff up.