Microsoft scammers warning – never contact us

Digital life

Scammers have been known to call and pretend to be Microsoft employees to gain access to their victims’ computers.

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An alternative method to this attack tactic is to have potential victims contact the perpetrators themselves. This can be achieved, for example, through fake Microsoft notifications in the browser. The consumer protection portal “Watchlist Internet” warns about this matter.

Those who click on ads or visit suspicious sites are often greeted by pop-ups. Scammers advertise that these are security warnings from the Defender antivirus program built into Windows. These alerts claim that malware has been found and the device has been blocked for security reasons. The assumed Microsoft support phone number is also provided.

Beware of scammers: do not call the number

Consumer advocates advise against calling the number provided. Otherwise, you will fall directly into the clutches of scammers, who will then, for example, ask for money under the pretext of invented service fees or pressure their victims to install remote maintenance software. However, this only leads to computer hijacking for data theft, extortion and other fraudulent activities.

You should also not be impressed by the audio players that appear with pop-ups. The audio explains that the computer has already alerted Microsoft that it is infected with the Trojan and that the hackers already have access to the online service’s login information and credit card information. This fraudulent tactic increases pressure on users.

Close your browser and avoid danger

Instead of clicking on it, you should close the tab in question, or even the entire browser. You should not press the close icon (X) of the fake Windows warning, as this causes the screen to go full screen and thus can look more threatening. You can usually exit the full screen by pressing F11.

Consumer advocates recommend deleting website data, cache and cookies in the browser settings if the false warning appears again after restarting the browser. If this is not enough, you should reset the browser. Microsoft itself also offers help with support scams on its support pages.
© German Press Agency / Edited by Ella

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