A LOCAL woman issued a warning to the community to beware of criminals claiming to be employed by the Microsoft call centre and holding the ‘Windows Computer License ID’ of your computer, which is ‘due for renewal’ or wanting to ‘fix a virus’.
The woman says she almost fell victim to the scam, but a quick Google search revealed the true nature of the scam.
‘I received two phone calls from a person who claimed he was phoning from a Microsoft Windows call centre.
‘He had a foreign accent, which sounded like from Pakistani origin.
‘He said he could prove his identity and claim, by giving me my PC computer license number.
‘He requested me to switch on my PC and he will then direct me through the right steps.
‘My PC was not switched on and I did not have time to really listen to him, but my gut feeling told me something was not right.
‘I told him I don’t trust him and he then politely gave me his website details and his name and said I can check it out.
‘He said he would call me again the following morning at 9am and that it will be his last call to me.
‘He was very persistent.
‘I quickly googled ‘Microsoft Callers’ and discovered many similar complaints about scammers using the same modus operandi.’
Code
One victim said the number which was quoted to him, was in fact found on two Windows XP computers in the house.
He also said the caller knew his surname.
Another victim contacted Microsoft directly and was informed that Microsoft will never ask for license numbers and private details telephonically.
Yet another, said the ‘technician’ attempted to persuade her to put in a certain code because the ‘call centre’ received error messages from a PC which was not even in use during the period of the ‘error messages’.
‘I don’t know how the scam unfolds, but it spells nothing good for an unsuspecting customer who is led down the garden path.’
BE AWARE: Read more on scams HERE
