By Anand Khanse for The Windows Club
How to Recognize a Microsoft Scam
Don’t let the Microsoft name disarm you when trying to verify the authenticity of a suspicious email or phone call.–PC Pitstop.
We get all sort of emails daily. Some claiming to be sent from reputed organizations like Microsoft. On most occasions these emails turnout to be no more than scams, trying to convince you to reveal your personal information to them. You may even get a call from people claiming to represent, for instance, Microsoft Support. In this post, we will see how to identify and avoid email or phone scams that fraudulently use the Microsoft name.
The most popular scams are ‘Lottery Scams’. At times, you may receive message claiming that you have won the Microsoft lottery. The message might even look like it comes from a Microsoft executive. However, the truth is that there is no Microsoft Lottery as such. Instead, it’s an attempt from scammers to trick you. First they will ask to either disclose your bank details and/or deposit some advance money to facilitate receiving the ‘lottery money’. Delete any lottery message you receive in the first place.
Rogue security software scams are popular too! Also known as ‘scareware’, Rogue security software is a software that appears to be beneficial from a security standpoint but offers limited or no security. Instead, the program generates misleading alerts and attempts to lure a user into participating in fraudulent transactions. Mostly, such scams appear in email, online advertisements and search engine results.
Whatever the case is (telephone call/mail or promises of money with little or no effort), the nature of threat is one – use a company’s name fraudulently to steal your personal information. so, how does one avoid scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently? Well, just be aware of certain guidelines to help protect your self.
Shared with permission from The Windows Club.
PC Pitstop Notes:
