Your ISP is not calling to help with your Windows problems. Don’t fall for this scam.–PC Pitstop.
Your ISP is Probably Not Calling
By Leo Notenboom
Hi Leo,
You might be interested in this little anecdote.
Yesterday about noon, the telephone rang. It was an Indian woman, and here’s what she said …
What follows is an increasingly commonly-attempted scam. Fortunately, the person reporting it had the right instincts and was able to avoid getting taken.
Let’s look at the transcript provided, and I’ll identify all of the warning signs with [notes] as we go.
The “your computer is causing problems” scam
Before we get into the specifics of this example, I want to clarify that this scam has become increasingly widespread, and has many variants. In the five years since this article was originally published, it’s clear that it’s happening more and more often, and many people are falling for it.
While this example is a call from “your ISP”, variations include scammers claiming to be calling from Microsoft, from “the internet”, from security firms, and from other reputable-sounding organizations.
Except they’re not reputable at all. They lie. It’s a scam. They are not who they say they are at all.
Don’t fall for it.
If you take away only one thing from this example, let it be this: always be suspicious when someone calls you. You have no way to confirm that they are who they say they are. I’ll have some tips on what steps to take in a moment.
