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The telephone rings.

-Yes?

-Good afternoon. We are calling from the Microsoft Technical Support Department because we have detected a very dangerous computer security flaw. To correct it, we need to allow remote access in order to eliminate the virus and install a protection program for future occasions.

If you did not receive that call personally, there is a good chance that you will meet someone who did.

And if it is the case, although it is known that there are countless scammers who use the internet to commit their crime, the unexpected of a call that supposedly is Microsoft, generates a minimum of concern about the possibility that certainly the computer and the precious information stored in it you can be at risk.

"Scammers use the name of important companies to commit their crimes because in that way the contact they establish seems more legitimate," explains on its website Action Fraud, a British organization dedicated to the prevention of cyber fraud.

It is a very lucrative business. Microsoft estimates that those who are behind false calls made on behalf of the company generate $ 1 billion annually.

Calls are not the only mechanism scammers use to try to obtain money through the installation of a malicious program on the computer and theft of personal data, which is known in English as phishing .

• Social Engineering

They also use emails and websites to convince people to download a program or click on a link.

For this they use "social engineering", which is the psychological manipulation that with false premises tries to get the victim to divulge personal information.

"They are tools designed specifically to generate panic in the victim, their goal is to get the message recipient to act immediately and do what is asked of them, ensuring that if they do not, they will lose something, such as access to your bank account, "says the website of the University of Indiana, United States, in a section specifically dedicated to the subject.

However, it has been detected that many of the criminal organizations that engage in phishingare in Brazil, and among the countries that top the list of spammers are several Asians, followed by the United States and Russia. It is higher in countries where there is little computer education.

• Teijeria ( A virus embed in a mail )

The virus in a mail, previously referred by Teijeira, It is an email that the person receives informing him that a package arrived in his name, and that if it takes more than a certain time to go and get it, he will be charged 3 euros. To avoid this, you have to click on a link.

When the person does it, an evil program is activated that encrypts all the Office files that are on the computer. They can not be recovered.

Another recent example is the messages received by Yahoo users warning them that if they do not update their data through a link that is included in the text, they will not be able to access their account.

They are also informed that it will be closed in 48 hours and that they will lose all the information stored there.

• Microsoft Lottery

Messages with supposed success in the lottery are also frequent, there are those who believed that they had won the "Microsoft Lottery" because the email they received with the notification seemed to come from an executive of the computer company.

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• How to recognize fraud

On its website, Microsoft offers information to determine if the message received is part of a scam.

Cybercriminals are not particularly known for their spelling and grammar, professional organizations have staff that check the messages that are sent to users to verify that they have no errors," explains the website.

• The links that are included in these emails are always dangerous. One way to verify that it is fraudulent is to place the mouse over the link, but WITHOUT clicking on it. In this way you can discover what the true address is, if a series of numbers appear, it is clear that there is no connection with the company that supposedly sends the message.

• The links can also contain .exe files, which often propagate malicious programs on the computer.

• Threats are another characteristic aspect of network fraud. Scammers usually claim that the security of the device is compromised and that if the message they send is not answered, the account will be closed.

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How to protect yourself

• Electronic companies do not make calls that have not been requested to fix the computer. If you receive them, consider them suspicious and do not give any information.

• Nor do they usually send information about security updates, unless the person has subscribed to those communications. If this is not the case, do not open the message.

• Microsoft does not request credit card data to validate copies of Windows, so if asked, do not provide them.

• If they call you to offer you something, ask if there is any cost. If they say yes, lock the phone.

• Never give control of your computer to a third party, unless you are absolutely sure that the person represents a company to which you are subscribed.

• Record the information of the person calling you and report it immediately to the authorities.

Source: Action Fraud and Microsoft

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Be Alert , Be Safe.

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