Microsoft will not call to fix computer bug
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April 11, 2014 |
A Bonners Ferry man reported getting a phone
call today from "Microsoft" informing him that
his computer has been infected by a virus, and
insisting that he follow his instructions or
face digital catastrophe. Fortunately, he
recognized the scam before it bit him.
His first hint came even before he answered;
caller ID showed a 600-34 telephone prefix.
Area code 600 is a rarely-used non-geographic
Canadian area code, reserved for specialized
telecommunications uses such as Teletype,
caller-pays cellular, ISDN and mobile satellite
communication services. One of the code's most
common uses is to provide satellite phone
service in remote areas of the Canadian north
where conventional telecommunications
infrastructure is not available.
Internationally, 600-34 is a code for the
Ukraine.
Secondly, he recognized that Microsoft does not
use the telephone to alert users to security
breaches.
Had he fallen for the scam, he'd have been given
instructions not on how to clean a computer
virus, but step-by-step instructions on how to
give the caller access to all personal data
stored on his computer, enabling the scammer to
use it at will to mine credit card, bank
account, password and other information best
kept private.
Instead of falling victim, the callee called the
caller a "moronic hacker."
Bill Gates would likely personally fire any
legitimate Microsoft employee for the ensuing
lack of etiquette and courtesy displayed by the
caller, who became irate nearly to the point of
screaming, all the while insisting that his
strongly Middle East accented instructions be
followed, immediately and to the letter.
Even as the rant continued, the callee did the
smart thing and hung up, and ask that others in
the community be made aware of yet another scam
being attempted in our community. |
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