Offers of computer support often end up to be scams

My household has received some amazing calls in the last few weeks offering help with problems I am told have infiltrated my computer’s Microsoft Windows operating system.

These salespeople, claiming to be Microsoft-certified technicians, have lied to me, insulted me and threatened me in an attempt to persuade me to let them access my computer remotely to remove problems.

They are, of course, scammers.

Imagine my surprise when the salesman 1) asked me if my last name was “Obama” because I said I can get help from the Microsoft support site — apparently only someone with a president’s power can get that kind of service; 2) told me my brother has misinformed me — he could not have worked as a computer programmer in the 1980s because programming had not been invented yet; and 3) informed me that their attorney would be stopping by my house and I would be paying “thousands and thousands of dollars” because I would not give them remote access to my computer to clean up all those nasty viruses their system showed I had let into my Windows operating system.

These scam companies must have a special training course — I never learned to use those techniques in my 15 years in sales.

A funny side note, for me, is that I tried for 40 minutes to get the representatives to hang up on me after I said 90 seconds into the call, “Thanks, but I am not interested in your service.” And this conversation started with the “Microsoft-certified technician” and drug on through two of his supervisors in the most recent call.

I would have hung up, but I guess I like to argue. I have been described as “contentious.”

As per standard advice in scams, official sources and law enforcement tell people to avoid giving any information to people making unsolicited calls. Microsoft — which the people who made the three calls to my house said they were representing — says the following on its website:

“Neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes. …

“Do not trust unsolicited calls. Do not provide any personal information.”

Interestingly, the Microsoft web page lists some commonly used company names utilized by scammers, and one of them — Windows Service Center — was the company that called me a few weeks ago.

The second call I received — apparently, my son had taken one previously, and my wife told them the next day when they called again that we had heard their story and they should give up — I was told the company was Tablet PC.

Oddly enough, the top supervisor in the second call I took was named Michael Johnson, the same name as the Windows Service Center supervisor in the first call I took, who, incidentally, also had a heavily accented voice remarkably similar to the second call’s supervisor.

This scam has been going on for years, apparently, and maybe is seeing an upswing. The Microsoft web page says common goals of the scammers are to:

Trick people into installing malicious software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords. They might also then charge you to remove this software.

Take control of your computer remotely and adjust settings to leave your computer vulnerable.

Request credit card information so they can bill you for phony services.

Direct you to fraudulent websites and ask you to enter credit card and other personal or financial information there.

Officials and law enforcement officers commonly tell people to be careful about any unsolicited contact, especially if it sounds too good to be true. It probably is.

For example, a soldier in the U.S. Army is unlikely to contact someone he doesn’t know to find a place to send $13 million he found in a palace in Iraq, even if he does include an image of his military identification card to prove who he is.

I just received that email — at my work computer, incidentally — a few weeks ago.

Likewise, the United Nations will not cold-call or email you about millions of dollars in settlements they are holding for you, and the relative of a fabulously wealthy deceased African businessman probably won’t contact you out of the blue looking for a place to send money or looking for investment advice.

Legitimate contractors probably won’t knock on your door offering to inspect your roof or siding and make an estimate, and if you are contacted by a European lottery about which you have never heard wanting to send you your winnings, the most likely reason you never have heard about it is because it does not exist.

And, whenever someone calls you or emails you to ask you to wire some money because they have been arrested or robbed in a foreign country, make sure that person really contacted you. Too many people have wired money to help a “friend” or “relative,” only to find out their friend or relative had never left the area.

Some of these scams may sound silly, but too many people fall victim and lose money every day.

(Tim Leeds is a reporter with the Havre Daily News.)