Someone from Windows Called me and said I had a virus

This is a new kind of scam going around.  A person will call an end user and tell them they are their Internet Service Provider or from Microsoft, and politely tell them they have a virus or something wrong with their computer and that they should install team viewer to share their computer so they can analyze the damage.

Once the end user gives access to the computer they are told about all the issues they have and that the person on the phone who now has remote access the computer can repair it for a fee.
If this does not set off bells and warning signals for you I don’t know what will.  These kind of scams have been going on for a while under many different forms.

These scammers are only after the most gullible of people. However everyone has an off day now and again and that is what they are counting on.

If you are ever asked over a phone to install a program from someone who called you out of the blue, don’t do it.  Simply ask for the person’s name, the company they work for and that persons phone number and extension and inform them you will give them a call right back.  In 99% of the cases the person will just hang up or give you false information.  So even if you think it’s legit you can almost know right off the bat by doing this simple technique.

I get sales calls from people I think are legit now and again.  In a few cases when I asked for the above information I found out right away this person was just trying to scam my small business out of money on fake products.  It’s a quick and easy way to filter scams out.  It’s not 100% but will save you a ton of time and money in the long run.

What to do if you fell victim to this scam?

If you installed Team Viewer on your computer you can either remove the program or change the access code so the person cannot have access to your computer.

You should also run a full virus scan to ensure that person did not install any programs on your computer like keyloggers or other viruses.

If you paid money, chances are you used a credit card.  If so call the credit card company up and tell them you have been a victim of fraud.  They will in almost all cases refund your money and issue a new card to you. With a Debit card you do not have the same protections as a credit card but may still be able to get your money back.

The worst thing to do is nothing.  If you let these people keep the money they will continue the scam.  Only by stopping the money trail can the scam be busted.