Thanks Good Morning America for the piece you aired on the latest Microsoft Scam. The only problem is, it’s nothing new! I posted about this scam back in June of 2015, and then again in May of 2016. Now I’m not saying that I am any better than my favorite morning show, I am saying that I wish this news would have come out long ago. As a matter of fact, when I found out about it, I contacted Fox5 Atlanta and asked them to spread the word.
Thanks Good Morning America!
I do appreciate Good Morning America covering these types of stories. That’s because they are newsworthy. People think people who fall for the scams are naive. I don’t think that. I think scammers are professional at trying to get you to divulge personal information. I spend my entire day trying to protect every network and user we support. It’s never ending. Trying to stay one step ahead of the hackers and thieves is an ongoing process, being fought by many. Just ask Norton, McAfee, or Webroot! Their whole business relies on hackers and thieves and our ability, or inability to protect ourselves.
The Scam
The came Good Morning America aired today was the one where you receive a pop-up from Microsoft telling you that you have been infected with a virus. They have you call their number, answer the phone as “Microsoft” and obtain access to your computer. Once in, they ask you for $149.99 to fix and clean the computer. They also have pop up windows that tell you your computer is not licensed and will be unusable if you do not call. It’s seriously unbelievable what they will do to try to scam you.
If you are ever in doubt, call Microsoft and ask them. They have received over 12,000 complaints about this scam. Don’t you just love the digital age?? lol
Tier3MD is an IT support group for medical practices.