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Tech support phone scams are common the past few years. The western U.P and northern Wisconsin areas are not immune to these scams.

Generally these scams include urgent warnings that a computer problem was discovered. The first contact might be live or might be a recording.

One current scam is reporting a so-called problem with the computer’s registration or activation key. The user is urged to call “tech support” to resolve the issue. The caller will claim to be from Microsoft or from “Windows.”

The scam depends upon the contacted person granting remote access to the computer. Once this remote access is granted the so-called tech support person will pretend to show the user various malware or other issues when in fact nothing is actually wrong.

One goal of the scam is to get people to use their credit cards to pay for non-existent tech support services. Other goals might be to install hidden malware or to extract sensitive information such as bank account numbers and passwords.

There are no legitimate business offering such tech support services.

There is no way such people can detect such issues.

Please do not respond to such recordings or phone calls. If the call is live then do not be intimated by hard sales tactics. Just hang up.

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Backwoods Geek

Backwoods Geek wrote his first computer program in 1977. He started using desktop computers in 1982 to write training and job aids. These days his home includes routers, switches, computers, a home theater PC, a laptop, and bluetooth phones. His professional career includes instrumentation and controls, computers, industrial training, technical writing, and teaching computer classes. Pastimes include sitting on the front porch, observing wildlife, cutting firewood, reading, watching movies, and tinkering with computers. He is uncomfortable around morning people until afternoon, likes dry and off-the-wall humor, and usually tells jokes with a straight face. He is a believer in the old adage that, "No matter where you go, there you are."

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