Beware cyber scammers posing as Microsoft techs

Bonners Ferry acting Chief of Police Joel Minor wants people to be aware of cybercriminals and tech support phone scams.

Over the past week the BFPD has received about10 complaints of phone callers claiming they were from Microsoft Tech Support.

The person calling often tells the consumer that a virus has been found on their computer and gives them steps to follow to remove the virus.

Minor said do not do this.

“Once they have access to your computer, they can obtain passwords, capture sensitive data bank user names, and credit card numbers,” Minor said.

Others report that they request to take control of a computer remotely to adjust the settings. They even go as far as asking for credit card information.

According to the official Microsoft security help section of their web site they claim neither Microsoft nor their partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge people for computer security or software fixes.

The scammers can sound convincing and try to gain trust. Cybercriminals often use publicly available phone directories which gives them an advantage of sounding official.

Minor said do not trust unsolicited calls. Do not provide any personal information to the people calling.

Here are some of the names the scammers are using, Windows Helpdesk, Windows Service Center, Microsoft Tech Support, Microsoft Support, Windows Technical Department Support Group,  Microsoft Research and Development Team.

Anyone who feels they have been a victim of a scam can call Boundary County Sheriff’s Office at 267-3151 or BFPD at 267-2412.