Strange Call from "Microsoft" -- name needed?

[Karl Hagen]

I think this falls under the rubric of "social engineering."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_engineering_%28security%29


On 2/8/2012 4:24 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson"<Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Strange Call from "Microsoft" -- name needed?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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.
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
> -----
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2112/4796 - Release Date: 02/08/12
>
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org