Strange Call from "Microsoft" -- name needed?

[Joel S. Berson]

Is there a name yet for this type of phishing (via telephone)?  Or is
it just a variant on older cons that already have a name?

Although hardly plausible (How many users would Microsoft have to
call for this "recall"?  What does one phone call from India --- or
was it only an Indian-sounding guy -- cost?), it apparently took in
at least one person.

Joel

> > This is a heads-up, for what it's worth. I just had a call from
> > "Microsoft," complete with an Indian-sounding tech guy, telling me
> > that I had acquired a dangerous virus, and that I could lose my
> > computer at any moment, and would I please turn it on and let him
> > guide me through "fixing" the problem.
>
>This very scam was thoroughly covered on the ABC affiliate in Northern
>California, by the consumer advocate Michael Finney. A woman was taken in
>and told her tale of woe. I don't remember how the guy got any money from
>her, though I can certainly imagine.

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