Avoid tech support phone scams

Arie,

Timely thread. I am a volunteer "computer helper" in my retirement community of 2,000 plus residents. Most of the residents here are over 70 and grew up here in the US in an era of trust so this ploy has worked here a number of times over the past 5 years or so.

I have helped clean up computers infected in this manner that residents paid between $49 and $299 for "Microsoft or Microsoft Partner assistance ". In some cases, a simple system restore to a point prior to the "assistance" did the trick. Others required more extensive uninstalls and cleaning. I called on Broni for help on a couple of them.

There did seem to be a lull in calls for a couple of years but it has picked up in the past six months. I plan to use your link in a newsletter to our local computer club of 600 members. Thanks