SCAM ALERT: Attorney General Chris Carr Warns of New Twist on Microsoft Tech Support Scam

December 6, 2016


ATLANTA, GA – Attorney General Chris Carr is warning consumers about a new twist on a technical support scam in which people pose as representatives from Microsoft. The scammers are taking the scheme a step further this time. See below for a detailed outline of their process:

The scammer calls the consumer, posing as a Microsoft representative, to tell them something is wrong with their computer but fixable through a payment of a few hundred dollars.

The scammer obtains personal account information to charge the victim’s credit card (sometimes repeatedly) for its “computer repair.”

The scammer then calls back a few weeks later saying, “Unfortunately, the attempted repair was unsuccessful.” 

As a courtesy, the scammer offers to refund the amount the consumer paid, and he/she asks the consumer to provide bank information to deposit the money directly into their account.

The scammer then “mistakenly” sends $3,000 instead of $300 to the account and asks the consumer to wire back the $2,700 overpayment.

Because the money was transferred right into the consumer’s account, the scheme creates a false sense of safety, and the consumer wires the excess funds right back.

It isn’t until later that the consumer, now victim, finds out where the $3,000 payment came from in the first place—their own credit card from the original phone call which was used to get a $3,000 cash advance.

https://law.georgia.gov/press-releases/2016-12-06/scam-alert-attorney-general-chris-carr-warns-new-twist-microsoft-tech