Threat Database Rogue Anti-Spyware Program AMMYY Microsoft Phone Support Scam

AMMYY Microsoft Phone Support Scam

By Domesticus in Rogue Anti-Spyware Program

Threat Scorecard

Ranking: 9,154
Threat Level: 20 % (Normal)
Infected Computers: 456
First Seen: September 19, 2013
Last Seen: September 17, 2023
OS(es) Affected: Windows

Phone scams have been troubling people for decades, but few of us have probably thought that we'll ever see computer-related phone misleading tactics. Unfortunately, this is the case with a well-known Microsoft Phone Support tactic that has been tricking computer users for a while now. Many people report receiving calls from an unknown number that claims to be a representative of Microsoft's support team, and tell them that there were multiple issues related to their computer's security and safety.

If you ever receive such a call, you must remember that it is a tactic, and you should never fall for the scare strategies used by the scammers. Tactics of this type usually try to scare the computer user into buying a product, paying a fee to the support team or even providing their credit card information to strangers. Falling for any of these tricks may have severe consequences, so calls of this type should always be approached with caution.

How to Recognize a Microsoft Phone Support Tactic?

The first and most important thing you should remember is that the Microsoft support team will never contact you for such reasons. If you ever receive a call from someone that claims to be a member of Microsoft's support department, and you haven't contacted them earlier, this is an almost sure sign that there is something fishy going on.

Other signs that the phone call you've received is fake may be following:

  • The caller has a heavy Indian accent.
  • The caller doesn't speak fluent English.
  • The caller requests personal information or credit card details.
  • The caller requests remote access to your computer.
  • The caller asks you to visit untrustworthy and shady websites or download files from them.
  • The caller asks you for your user account credentials.

How will the Scammers Try to Trick You?

If you don't disconnect from the call in the first couple of minutes, then the crooks will know that they may have a chance to trick you into paying or granting them access to your computer. At this point, they'll start using their scare tactics and other methods whose goal is to win your trust, and eventually get you to do whatever they wish.

Scare tactics are regularly used by third parties worldwide, so it is not uncommon for these people to try and scare you into paying for something you don't need. When it comes to computer-related tactics, there are several methods that may be used to gain your trust:

  • They may tell you that your computer has been infected with threats.
  • They may say that there's a large number of issues concerning to your PC.
  • You may be told that this is a regular check-up by Microsoft to ensure that you aren't using pirated software.

Thanks to phone reverse engineering or following your social media profiles, these persons can easily gather valuable information about you such as your IP address, names, relationship status, family, etc. They may present some of these details to you so that they could win your trust, and it would seem as if they are legitimate support staff that can help you resolve your computer problems.

The first thing that they may do is to tell you that your computer is severely infected with various kinds of threats. They may spend a couple of minutes ensuring you that the dangers they are talking about are genuine and must be handled immediately. Afterward, they'll either try to get you to grant them access to your computer or they'll straightforward ask for your money.

One of the standard requests that the scammers will make is for you to visit the website ammyy.com, and download the remote desktop access tool available there. Although this application is legitimate, they want to use it to get remote access to your computer, which will give them the opportunity to cause some mayhem. For example, this will help them trick you into thinking that there is something wrong with your PC. Apart from that, they may also try to visit websites containing adware or other types of threats, in order to get your computer infected.

Keep in mind that AMMYY is usually the con artists' weapon of choice, but they can also ask you to use similar software such as TeamViewer or WinVNC. They focus on using legitimate software because this way it is easier for them to win your trust, and get you to believe that you are being contacted by official Microsoft representatives.

What can the Consequences Be?

The style may vary, so that the consequences can be very different. A large number of people that have encountered this strategy report that they've been asked to pay a hefty fee in exchange for the help of the phony support team when it comes to removing the PC threats that have supposedly infected their system. In the meantime, other computer users say that they've been asked to purchase and download specific software that, according to the con artists, will deal with the threats that trouble their computer.

In general, the main thing that these persons will want from you is the access to your computer. This way they can easily trick you into thinking that you are infected or giving them the opportunity to download and execute actual threats on your computer. Whatever the case, you must remember that official Microsoft support representatives will never cold call you, ask for access to your computer, ask for your credit card information or request a payment.

URLs

AMMYY Microsoft Phone Support Scam may call the following URLs:

rcgaxg.com

1 Comment

Thanks for the heads up! I felt obligated to post because I received a call like that too, purportedly from Microsoft. It came from an anonymous and strangest phone number I've ever known. Guess what? It was 1234567890! For real! And what's more? Several others did get a call from the same phone number, too. I found the complaints posted at http://www.callercenter.com/123-456-7890.html and I learned that this scammer has been calling people for a while now.

But it's really surprising. How is it possible? Is there such a phone number?!?

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