Telephone terror by false Microsoft employees

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If the scammers call the landline phone, it's best to turn it off for a while when you don't need it.


The calls come from Germany, Italy, Austria, or other countries, but the scam is always similar: Many people are currently receiving calls from alleged Microsoft employees who want to help with alleged security issues. The scammers also don't give up if you hang up or block them. They try again and again with other numbers. What can you do about it?  The callers claim that they are employees of Microsoft support. They say they found a security problem on the PC and wanted to help fix it. Those who get on their nerves are ripped off. Those who don't fall for it still have problems. Because the crooks call over and over again, regardless of whether you hang up, abuse them or threaten the police.


Mass instead of class


The fraudsters are not clever. They usually have the numbers from large data sets that originate from hacker attacks and are offered in packets for little money in the so-called Darknet. The callers often only speak English and don't sound like trained support staff at all.

But persistence pays off for them, even if only a small number of those called fall for the so-called technical support scam, they make big money. There are hundreds of thousands of such calls annually that people around the world receive, Microsoft wrote in a blog post in September. Among other things, the gangsters issued invoices amounting to several hundred euros for alleged software repairs.

Worse still, the criminals try to convince their victims to accept a remote connection. This means that the scammers can remotely access the computer and install malicious software. They are trying to steal such sensitive data that they can make money with. For example, they access to access data for online banking or demand a ransom to unblock blocked computers.

One affected person described her bad experience at the Hamburg consumer center. A few months ago she accepted having alleged harmful viruses removed from her computer. "Luckily I don't have a Visa card, so I couldn't give any bank details. My PC was locked with a password out of anger. I had to take it to a computer store, where the files could be saved, thank goodness. But it was even for the pros in that Loading is not that easy. "


Investigators have a hard time


Microsoft is trying to take action against tech scam fraudsters around the world with its Digital Crimes Unit in cooperation with law enforcement agencies. But German investigators generally have bad cards because the gangsters work from abroad, often from countries far away. Many scam call centers are located in India.

The phone numbers displayed may look German or European, but they are spoofed. This means that the calls are diverted through a service that gives them false numbers which are then displayed on the called party's phone. It is therefore of little help if you block a phone number.


According to the security service provider PSW Group, the Indian government is rather lax with such fraudulent gangs. Nevertheless, there are indications that such call center operators have come under greater pressure in recent times. In 2018, 16 of these call centers were searched by the police. A second raid at the end of 2019 ensured that another 28 centers could be searched. Given the renewed flood of scams, the actions were not very sustainable.


Hang up, hold out, show


Indeed, there is not much that can be done about telephone terrorism. Microsoft advises ending such discussions as soon as possible.


If only the landline phone is affected and you rarely use it, you can turn it off for a while. The contacts who are still using it are informed in advance that they will have to call the cell phone number until further notice.

Under no circumstances should third-party software be bought or installed. Likewise, you must never follow the instructions of the wrong support staff and give them remote maintenance access to your device.


If it is already too late because the software has already been installed, the device must be disconnected from the mains as soon as possible. Then you should uninstall the software and change all passwords from a secure device, especially for the online banking account. It is also advisable to scan the system with an anti-virus program.


Microsoft also asks those affected to report the attempted fraud to the police. It is also helpful if the case is reported to the company; Microsoft provides a form for this on a website.