Here’s a new scam that certainly is getting people in trouble simply because they are trying to find computer support services. In this situation, scammers are taking advantage of Google’s advertising engine. If you aren’t careful, it could cause you problems too.
Here’s How It Works
So, with this new plan, the scam artist actually allows the unsuspecting victims to contact them instead of being proactive:
- Let’s say you are having problems with your Microsoft computer.
- You go to Google because you need help, so you type in “Microsoft Technical Support” in search of a phone number.
- You see an ad at the top of the search results that says something about Microsoft support. You click on it and find a phone number.
- Then, you call the phone number. Even though it isn’t actually Microsoft, you have no idea that you are talking to a scammer.
- Once they have you on the phone, they can begin their scam.
When they get people on the line, there are a couple of things they could do all under the guise of computer support. First, they could guide you through the process of downloading “help” software on your machine that actually turns out to be a virus or a remote control that allows someone to hack into your computer. They could also demand you give them a credit card to “pay for support” in advance, and then never actually do anything to repair your computer.
Why Does It Work?
Anyone can create a Google ad and use a phone number. They don’t have to validate who they are, and if you notice when you do this search, it never actually says they are the Microsoft Corporation. However, their deceptive ads do make it look to the untrained eye to be affiliated with the company.
It works because scammers know people tend to click on the first search engine result. In the case of Google, the first three results are ads or sponsored listings. They aren’t actual search engine results per se. In fact, if you scroll past the ads, you would see the very first actual result really is Microsoft, but most people don’t scroll that far. Because of that, this scam can be extremely useful for people who are trying to hack computers or steal money, and the best part for the hacker is that they don’t have to do any work.
Avoiding this scam is simple. When you know you need computer help, you just need to find a reliable company and then stick with them whenever you have a computer problem. If you find a remote company that offers quality, upstanding computer support, then you won’t have to worry about seeking out a phone number every time you have an issue. If you are having computer problems, then contact computer-help.com for reliable and trustworthy support. And, of course, if you need to contact Microsoft directly, don’t Google search for them. Instead, just type in www.microsoft.com. When you go directly to the website, you can avoid the scammers quickly and easily.
