We often come across virus alerts on our devices warning us of possible virus infection devices that could be prone to. However, those alerts could, in reality, be scams running for distorting money from us.
According to a report by The New York Times, one out of five people who receive such alert messages tend to contact fake tech-support centers and six percent of the users pay for fake services.
Microsoft has found that various such fake tech support have their roots in New Delhi, the capital of India, which is also the hub of call centers. Recently, around 16 call centres were raided and around 36 people were arrested who were part of the scam duping users with fake alerts. The scammers even use fake Microsoft logo in the alerts to establish credibility.
Ajay Pal Sharma, the senior superintendent of police there, said, “The modus operandi was to send a pop-up on people’s systems using a fake Microsoft logo.”
The bogus tech support people would call their targets and pretend to be a Microsoft employee, telling them of a virus or that his or her system could have been hacked. Eventually, they ask for money ranging from $99 to $1000 to fix the problem that doesn’t exist in reality.
The scam runs on a massive level as indicated by the fact that Microsoft receives around 11,000 or more scam complaints every month.
Microsoft has been working with other tech companies such as Apple and Google along with law enforcement agencies to solve the menace that is spreading all over the world.
