With increasing frequency, private individuals and organizations in Germany have experienced unexpected phone calls. The caller is a supposed support employee from Microsoft or another reputable company. This supposed employee claims to have detected a serious and dangerous virus infection or Trojan on your computer. Initially, this fake employee offers to neutralize the malware on your home or work computer. The recipient is asked to sit down at their computer and follow their instructions. In reality, the supposed employee installs malicious software on the PC and circumvents security settings in order to gain access to valuable data. This scam is known as a tech support scam.
Another variant is the fake error message on the PC, which indicates a supposedly existing virus. Often in the form of a fake browser message when surfing the Internet. A request for contact rounds off this message. Requests to contact supposed support employees are even sent by criminals via email. A supposedly official support telephone number for technical service providers is displayed, which officially does not exist; the affected person is asked to call. As previously described, the victims are instructed to first install malicious software and thus enable data spying and to give strangers access to their own PC. Unlocking the protective functions of operating systems is also associated with this scam. Furthermore, the disclosure of personal data - including bank details - can also be demanded.
Meanwhile, Microsoft announced that support staff from the renowned company are not making unsolicited calls. Microsoft systems also do not display support phone numbers for error messages.
Recipients of such calls, emails, or web browser warnings should always question the credibility of such requests and warnings. Never share personal information, such as bank details or financial information, with strangers. Never grant strangers access to your PC.
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more:
Microsoft im Artikel: Schützen Sie sich vor Betrugsversuchen im Zusammenhang mit dem technischen Support (as of 09.2023)
Deutsche Verbraucherzentrale im Artikel: Warnung: Abzocke durch angebliche Microsoft-Mitarbeiter (as of 09.2023)
Kreditinstitut Ing im Artikel: Abzocke mit der Techniker-Masche (as of 09.2023)