Got hit by a fake tech support call last week and almost fell for it

Some guy called saying he was from Microsoft and my computer had a virus, and he had me pull up some system log. I caught on when he asked for my credit card to fix it, but the log looked real enough to scare me for a minute. Anyone else had these calls and found a quick way to spot them before wasting time?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.rowan1mo ago

Not really seeing the problem here. These calls are easy to brush off if you just hang up as soon as they say Microsoft or virus. A lot of people waste time talking to them when they could just end the call in two seconds. The real issue is folks not having basic common sense to know Microsoft doesn't cold call you about errors on your personal computer. Those system logs they show are generic and anyone can pull them up. You almost fell for it because you engaged with them instead of just hanging up right away.

troyp371mo ago

Get where you're coming from but gotta say kicking people when they're down isn't really fair. These scammers are professionals who literally train for months on scripts designed to trick even smart people. Walked my own mom through a similar call last year and she's got a masters degree. The fake system logs and urgency they create is way more convincing than you'd think if you haven't sat through one of these calls yourself. Maybe cut folks some slack instead of acting like you'd never slip up under pressure.