If a supposed Microsoft employee says on the phone that they need to access your computer, hang up immediately!

Although old hat, the fake Microsoft employee scam is still a hot topic. Older people in particular often fall into the trap of fraudsters.

The scam usually involves the caller pretending to be a Microsoft employee and possibly explaining in broken German or English that there is a problem with the computer. For example, a virus or Trojan has embedded itself. In order to solve this problem, the alleged employee would have to access the device. As a result, the fraudster installs malicious software on the computer.

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Criminals call random phone numbers, but the trend is also to track down older people. So if someone introduces themselves as an employee of a company and wants access to one of your devices or personal data - hang up immediately!

I have downloaded the program – what can I do?

  • In any case, stay calm!
  • If possible, remove the installed program from your computer. For this it may be necessary to restart Windows. You can find instructions for this on the official Microsoft support page, for example. Alternatively, you can also seek help from real IT technicians. But remember that when you reinstall the system, all your data will be deleted!
  • If you have submitted credit card or bank details, it is best to call the bank or credit card company and explain your situation. These will give you further instructions.
  • If you have logged into various user accounts, you should definitely change your passwords. We will explain to you here which passwords are really secure .
  • Also file a police report.

If you have fallen victim to a fake Microsoft employee, it is best to inform Microsoft directly that fraudsters are acting on their behalf. the scam here .

By the way, we will keep you up to date on fraud cases. Here you can also find everything about fake employees .

Article image: Shutterstock / By Jane Kelly
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )