Microsoft Support Scam

Please share this. This is a great example of a popular scam going around, and one that’s been going around for years. This can pop up at just about any time and has happened to me. It’s not a virus or someone hacking your computer, it’s just a very aggressive website.

Let’s take a look, at why it’s a scam even though it clearly says Microsoft Support.

1. Wrong phone number. This is easy to look up, it took me about 2 seconds to see that Microsoft’s real phone number is 1 (800) 642-7676.
2. Windows doesn’t have a “registration key”. It has either a Digital License or Product Key.
3. This website tries downloading a file titled “This computer is BLOCKED.html”. Why would a file need to be downloaded to your computer when you didn’t request it?
4. Even if your Digital License or Product Key was invalid, entering it into a website won’t do anything. For Windows activation, you enter it into a sub-section of the Control Panel or Settings depending on the version of Windows, not a website.
5. The majority of the text at the top middle doesn’t make any sense. Again, there’s no such thing as a “registration key” and if your Product Key was blocked or invalid, a website wouldn’t notify you, Windows itself would. It also wouldn’t say that the key is illegal, it would simply say invalid. Microsoft doesn’t judge your Product Key as to whether or not it’s legal, it just says whether or not it’s valid for the copy of Windows you have installed. This box then goes on to say that “This window” is pirated, sending viruses and hacked. How would that browser window do that? That would only happen if that website was compromised. Instead, they probably mean “This copy of Windows”. Poor use of English, that’s another sign of a scam.
6. There’s 2 references of the website here on the screen, “http://144.202.12.167”. Microsoft wouldn’t use an IP address as a website, they would have their own .com associated with support. A .com is called a domain and it is an extra cost that isn’t totally necessary, especially when you’re a scammer and have ads redirect people to a scam IP address.

Finally, the last mark of a scam; the phone number. ANY time you see a phone number pop up on your screen, consider it a scam, especially if you didn’t solicit it. Don’t call the phone number. If your computer was in fact sending out viruses or participating in a botnet or anything else illegal, your ISP would very likely shut off your Internet and send you a warning letter. If you think your copy of Windows isn’t Genuine or legal, there’s several ways you can check, outlined in this website: https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-learn-copy-windows-7-windows-8-activated