Microsoft‑style scam calls – how to protect yourself

It's frustrating to receive daily scam calls, including one from a person claiming to be Asian Aled Jones from Microsoft, which is clearly a fraudulent claim, and despite being ex-directory and TPS registered, these scammers still manage to obtain private details

A self-proclaimed Microsoft Security Monitor called today, claiming they've been monitoring my communications and that a 'hacker' has been sending malicious emails from my home PC and accessing 'restricted' sites. They couldn't specify which sites, though, as they were 'highly dangerous.' I was then transferred to a 'Systems Expert' who could analyze my PC and fix the issue. I played along, pretending to be naive, until the 'Expert' asked for remote access. I faked entering commands until the Asian woman on the other end, oddly named Mary Berry, gave up and hung up. And I was just starting to enjoy messing with them. - David Ebbs

A call was received supposedly from Microsoft support, claiming a computer issue, which was perceived as time-consuming and potentially a scam.

Some guy called himself Dan, and said he was from mykcrasoft

This morning, someone called, and said hello alot, and then just said 'automated' thank you, and the line went dead

The caller consistently rang, inquiring about my windows machine despite being told I use linux. After redirecting the number, they incurred significant fees, leading to a heated reaction.

The usual scam about windows support, told the female caller she was beeing very ignorant and should give up, supprizing how many people fall for this

Ultimately, the responsibilty lies with the telephone companys who are selling these numbers, for instance the Bathgate group of numbers are being used by a company trying to sell services that appeare to be Scotland based but are actualy from Mumbia, which seems to be the scam capital of the world, perhaps somone can devise a program to flood these scam numbers with calls untill they reach their breaking point?

This number, 0022245550142, is a spoofed one, apparently from the "microsoft technical department scam". I had some fun at their expense with my old "386 based windows 3 computer".

A caller claimed I was the 'main owner of a computer', to which I replied that I didn't own one, and the line went silent

An Asian man who introduced himself as 'Robert Smith' contacted me. He claimed my computer was transmitting unauthorized data, which was clearly a scam. After I posed a few questions, he abruptly ended the call. Stay alert.

"Your computer has an issue" - different false claims, yet these scammers persist without end.

The windows team hasn’t contacted me in a while, so I decided to have some fun. He claimed he could prove they were genuine by providing my laptop’s license number. He gave random numbers and asked me to check on my laptop. I got bored and told him we only have Apple products at home, and the ‘windows’ laptop is from work. I said our IT department would call on my company mobile, not the home number. I called him out and hung up. Wasting their time is satisfying.

This morning, someone pretending to be from Microsoft tried to scam me. They said my computer was sending out unwanted things and asked me to sit at my computer with a pen and paper. I played along. They told me to look for the ‘Ctrl’ key and then the Windows key. I pointed out I’ve been an IT engineer for 20 years and didn’t need instructions. They asked me to hold for their supervisor, and the line went dead.

They are pretending to be from Microsoft, attempting to gain access to your PC! SCAM.

The caller claimed to be calling about Windows on my PC, but I think its a scam, these callers should be tracked and charged with deception

Following a series of events, including a call from a withheld number and an international number, I finaly recieved a call from this number, claiming to be 'Steve Williams' from 'Microsoft Service Desk', but I wasnt having it, I denied having any computer equipement, and the caller was left perplexed, aparenty

A person named Asian Allan claimed to be from Microsoft Window phones, stating my computer has been monitored and found faulty. I hung up. This number has appeared on my answering machine frequently.

Claimed to be Windows Help Desk with a computer issue. I asked what was wrong, and they hung up. Added to my call blocker now.

An Asian caller claimed to be from Microsoft. He told me to turn on my computer to stop hackers. I told him I was busy and hung up. He called back the next day and asked if my computer was on. I said no and told him I wouldn't because it was clearly a scam. Be cautious!