Strange Call from "Microsoft" -- name needed?

[Garson O'Toole]

Joel: If there is a short clever name for this type of scam it does
not show up in a quick search. Here are some of the names I found that
are being used to label this ruse:

Fake tech support virus phone scam
Microsoft Impersonation Scam
Virus phone scam
Fake Virus Phone Scam
Computer Virus Phone Scam

Here are a few links to articles on the topic. The Guardian article
claims that this type of scam dates back to 2008. The Youtube video
presents the audio of a conversation between a scammer and a griefer.

Microsoft Impersonation Scam
[Begin except]
Scam:   Scammers pretending to be Microsoft techs call victims to gain
access to their computers and/or bank accounts.
[End except]
http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/microsoft.asp


Virus phone scam being run from call centres in India
Britons targeted by cold callers pretending to be from Microsoft
phoning to fix a fake computer problem
By Charles Arthur
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 18 July 2010 15.48 EDT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/18/phone-scam-india-call-centres
[Begin except]
The scam always starts the same way: the phone rings at someone's
home, and the caller – usually with an Indian accent – asks for the
householder, quoting their name and address before saying "I'm calling
for Microsoft. We've had a report from your internet service provider
of serious virus problems from your computer."
 [End excerpt]

Phone scammers target PC users with phony virus reports
By Ed Bott | November 4, 2011, 4:47am PDT
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/phone-scammers-target-pc-users-with-phony-virus-reports/4198

Fake Virus Phone Scam from India
Uploaded by enolabomber on Aug 20, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjYgx167ac4

On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 8:24 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Strange Call from "Microsoft" -- name needed?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This kind of scam comes in waves. A few years ago, it was appliance
> warranties. Then it got replaced with car warranties. The current top
> scam--for about a year now--is the credit card interest lowering.
> Perhaps Microsoft recall is the next big thing. It makes no sense--why
> imitate someone else's scam? If you've figured it out once, you're not
> going to bite again--and we've been getting 3-4 such calls a week, from
> different sources (not just different phone numbers, which are spoofed
> anyway).
>
>     VS-)
>
> On 2/8/2012 7:24 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>> 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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