We often hear from our customers that they received a notification on their computer or a phone call claiming they have serious security problems. This can be an online message, email, and most often phone solicitations. Their intent is to scare the user into allowing them access into their computer via a remote login, and then on to produce some very legitimate-looking diagnostics that further convey the severity of the issue.

THIS IS A HOAX. I wish this could be stated more loudly and more widely.

No legitimate tech outlet will ever contact you this way. Microsoft does not have a support branch for such issues and they will never call you.

The good news is that they always need your participation. The safest bet is to simply hang up the phone, and although they can be persistent, it is important to know that anything (ANYTHING) they claim is false. Some of their claims may sound scary, mentioning illegal activities, leaks of your personal or financial information. These are common tactics they use to persuade you into participation, giving them access to your computer, and then requesting payment to fix non-existent problems.

We try to educate our clients and friends of these scams and to always be mindful of who and what information you give to any outlet. If you ever have a concern about your computer, smartphone or tablet’s security, we offer a completely transparent consultation, free diagnosis, and educate users about the best ways to protect your devices and data.