Police Warn About Microsoft and Other Online Scams

[Wayne]

http://kstp.com/article/stories/s2651812.shtml

The Lakeville Police Department is warning others around the metro about a recent online scam they responded to. A resident reported receiving a phone call from a person who claimed to be a Microsoft employee. The caller, who had an accent, told the resident that their computer had been compromised and asked for permission to access it remotely to fix the problem.

After asking a few more questions, the resident eventually gave the caller access. After working on it for a while the caller told the resident there would be a charge for the service. Growing even more suspicious, the resident told the caller Microsoft does not charge for the service and proceeded to disconnect the computer.

Police say unfortunately by that point it is nearly impossible to know what and how much information the caller may have accessed or stolen.

Investigators say it is not uncommon for cybercriminals to claim they are from well-known companies like Microsoft to try to gain access to your personal information. A lot of times they are working out of another country as well, making it hard to catch and prosecute them.

It is important to know Microsoft does not send unsolicited e-mails or make unsolicited telephone calls.

Detective Russ Helmueller said, “In these situations it is probably best just to hang up the phone or delete the message right away, if you are suspicious of the caller or person sending the message .”

He offered this link for some good online security ideas:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/onlin ... sname.aspx