652-337-9968

I received a call from someone with a very heavy Mexican/Spanish accent.  He said he was calling from (it sounded like PC Services, but I cannot be sure).  He did not give me his name.  He said he wanted to speak to me about a computer.  I asked what computer and he said 'yours'.  I asked him to transfer me to someone who spoke better English because I could not understand him then he hung up on me.

This is the fake PC tech confidence game.

Essentially some fiend in a boiler room, usually in South Asia, wants to coax you into dropping your firewall and security measures and play havoc with your system, possibly with the goal of then selling you the ''solution'' to the problem they caused. Worse yet they might plunder your hard drives for whatever can be sold or used against you. They count on most computer owners being ''appliance users'' who don't understand what's under the hood and being easily misled.

They may claim to have a pile of complaints because your system is spewing spam, or else instruct the user to open a shell and look at perfectly innocuous system feedback and claim there is something dangerous happening. This is the PC equivalent of the crooked auto mechanic who squirts oil on your axle and wants $1600 to ''repair'' the non-damage.

The dumber ones claim to be from ''the Windows Corporation'' or the ''Microsoft legal department'' or something as implausible. Their actual knowledge of personal computers is always pitifully low, as reported many times when real PC techs are called. (Sometimes their command of English is little better.) Often the reps become hostile and curse you out if you indicate any sort of informed resistance.

Microsoft is not running any constant emergency alert system and is surely not going to run a reverse tech support call center devoted to writing each of us a trouble ticket. DO NOT follow any instructions from these goons and don't give them any satisfaction of making you upset.

For further reading, 800Notes has many other threads on this scam, often visited by shills for the scammers who try clumsily to make themselves appear honest.

https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-213-674-8586
https://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-858-947-4076
https://800notes.com/forum/ta-5033ec9c518273a ... -1-567-252-5221

Here's the verdict straight from Microsoft:

Avoid tech support phone scams
https://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx

Strange call pretending to be from Microsoft tech support
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/f ... 2e-2ab81645553d

Some relief came the first week in October 2012 as the FTC spanked whole gangs of these creeps with huge damage awards.

FTC Halts Massive Tech Support Scams
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/10/pecon.shtm

received a call from the 1-288-918-6555 (no name in CID), after the usaul computer call hand off wait, man in heavy Indian accent answered but before he could get going with what ever scam this was I said "take us off your call list please" he responded "no I will not do this" and hung up. Added him to my "blocked list"

I really wish there was a global responce to this growing harasment to the general public everyware. This is theft or attempted theft anyway you look at it. Either by the phone calls from overseas (now that the cheap VOIP lines are available to theses scam artists) or by the fake e-mails we all get from anything from a Bank or credit card company to a notice your UPS delivery is not being delivered. Some are really good others a joke. Tough to keep up with it all.

Put these guys all out on a deserted island with laptops, no escape, no electricity and no internet for 20 years. Let them go after each other. There I vented.

2nd. Call in 3 months, I say husband will have to get back to them. They hang up. So I google Microsoft.com for phone number to inquire and report 8555846184.  Indian deep voice will not listen to me tries to force me to open computer to fix unknown problem . Did not identify he was from Microsoft became very aggravated with me so I said I was calling  Better Business Bureau and my husband will Call you back and I hung up. What a mess, we need to get these people. So now there at 2 numbers 288 - 918 - 6555. And when I google  Microsoft on my cell phone the other number 8555846184 That tried to force me or they tapped into my car via cell Also. I am plugged my computer for the day.