Colleagues have warned of a Technical Support Scams taking place that seem to be targeting end users. Here is a synopsis of how a recent call went, according to a workmate:

Caller: “…the global Internet server is showing your computer is generating 100’s of errors per second.”

User: “Where are you calling from and who are you?”

Caller: “Win Tech Support – supporting XP, Vista and Windows 7”

User: “There is no global Internet server… Are you with Microsoft?”

Caller: “No.”

Caller continues the scam…

User: “What’s my IP address that causing the error?”
(Challenging them to prove they are seeing errors, without providing them any additional information.)

Caller: Hangs up

The scammer will attempt to convince you to provide them credit card information for payment for the “Tech Support” services. I have heard of one person being charged US $300 for the “support call”. The scammers will also try and get remote access to your computer, most likely by pointing you to a web address that has a remote assistance capability. They can then take control of the PC and may be able to view or download files that contain financial or personal information.

If someone contacts you and tries to get payment information or tries and gets you to access a web sites to install something they sent you in E-mail for something that you didn’t initiate, be alert.

More information on the scam: