Online Technical Support and Customer Service Helpline Scams

Online Technical Support and Customer Service Helpline Scams

Scammers have created fake Hotmail Customer Service, Canon Printer Customer Service, Mac Mail Customer Service, Gmail Password Recovery Technical Support, McAfee Customer Service and Yahoo Customer Service websites, Facebook pages, and other social media web pages, in an attempt to trick online users into calling bogus toll-free numbers. Once potential victims have called the bogus numbers, the scammers will attempt to trick the callers into giving them their online accounts’ credentials, personal and financial information, by pretending to be technical or customer service helpline representatives.

Scammers are using the following fake technical/customer phone numbers to trick their potential victims into calling them, thinking they are calling a real technical/customer helpdesk.

The Fake Technical/Customer Telephone Numbers

  • 1-844-282-6955
  • 1-800-473-0932
  • 1-844-449-0455
  • 1-855-233-7309
  • 1-855-531-3731

We will add more numbers when we receive them, because scammers will no doubt use other numbers as soon as the numbers they are currently using have been discovered as fraudulent.

How the Scam Works?

Scammers post the fake toll-free numbers on social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Slideshare, Google+ and Youtube, where the fake phone numbers can be easily shared with millions of online users. Once the potential victims call the fake numbers, they will be asked by a real person or an automated system for their online account credentials, personal and financial information. Once the scammers have received their victims’ information, they will use it to hijack their online accounts, steal their identities and money.

Potential victims may also be tricked into downloading and installing malicious software, which will infect their computers with a malware called a Trojan horse, or they may be tricked into downloading and installing legitimate remote desktop software, to allow remote access to their computers.

Once the potential victims’ computers are infected with a Trojan horse, the scammers will be able to remotely take control of their computers from anywhere in the world. Once the scammers have access to their potential victims’ computers, they will spy on them, steal their information, and may use the computers to commit other cyber-crimes, which will be traced back to the victims.

The scammers may also trick their victims into downloading and installing legitimate remote desktop software, and trick the potential victims into giving them access to their computers via the same remote desktop software. Once the scammers have access to their potential victims’ computers, they will also spy on them and steal their personal and financial information.

Victims of the technical/customer scam should change their online accounts’ passwords, contact their banks and report the scam to their local authorities.

Remember, be careful on social media websites, because not everything posted on them are real. Scammers are using social websites to find potential victims by creating fake pages and posting bogus information on them, in order to find potential victims and scam them.

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Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.
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Comments (Total: 5)

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  • September 22, 2016 at 9:48 PM by info

    Received via email:

    "Recd email stating they were MICROSOFT SECURITY alert and to call 8008681782. Man who answered had heavy accent. Hung up as I knew it was fake.

    Recd call back immediately (same voice) from 8668637942 asking if I called w/computer problem. Said no...wrong #. He didn't want to hang up. I called MICROSOFT SECURITY & THEY SAID IT HAS A SCAMMER."

  • July 2, 2016 at 7:32 PM by info

    Received via email:

    "I just received a call from a "certified windows technician" who informed me that there is a problem with my computer. These people won't stop calling me. I have already been scammed by them once, shortly after I got my first computer and before I knew better. Every time they call me I tell them to stop calling me and that I know it is a scam, that I have already been scammed - lost money, had my computer crashed by them and then had to spend more money to get my computer up and running again, and scrubbed clean. The man was foreign sounding ( every time they have called me it is a foreigner) and the number is 215-485-6225. I believe every time one of these people call they are using a different phone number. I just want them to leave me alone. Also a few days ago I had an alarming noise on my computer and a big blue warning screen popped up telling me that my computer had been compromised and to call the number listed immediately. I believe this was identified as "Windows" or "Microsoft" in the message. I was instructed not to X out of the screen, shut down or restart my computer. I DID exit the screen and I DID shut down my computer and restart it. I also ran a security scan through McAffey and that showed no problems detected. I am weary of this harassment."

  • February 23, 2016 at 5:11 PM by info

    Received the following from an anonymous user:

    "I made a stupid mistake and called a number on my computer as I thought it was Microsoft Support. The gentlemen told me he was Microsoft Support, so, I gave him access to my computer via ShareMyPC. I don't know if he downloaded any information from my computer, but, he definitely ran some "tests" to diagnose what he thought was wrong and told me all typed up all of the following:

    (Please Note - I am concerned as he had access to my computer and made me feel like I had some real bad viruses that I needed to get taken care of...I have since changed all of my passwords and want to ensure that I am safe from this fraudulent type of behavior)

    LIVE PC FIX

    Name:- Paddy Singh

    Toll free Number:- 1-888-574-2575

    Extension Number:- 2330

    Employee ID:- A1376

    24*7 Technical Support

    Level 4 certified technician 45-60 minutes Security department"

    He told me his email was paddy@microsoft certifiedtechnician.com.

  • January 4, 2016 at 8:19 AM by info

    Received the following from an anonymous user via email:

    "I had a call from someone purporting to be in the UK. He had a heavy Indian-Sub-Continent accent and when the call came in the screen showed ‘INTERNATIONAL’. When I said his number was INTERNATIONAL he said it wasn’t – he was in London so I asked what his number was and he said it was 02088547621.

    He was overbearing and rude and I felt quite intimidated initially so I put the telephone receiver down. He called me back and asked why I had cancelled the call since he told me my PC had errors and he was from Microsoft. I cancelled the call again.

    He called a third time and suggested if I did not want his help he would disconnect me from the internet and I should get a pen and paper as he was going to give me a termination ID number. He told me he was not here to convince me but just to help me I told him to stop calling me.

    He then told me my computer would be disconnected from the main server I would be blacklisted from the Microsoft program. My response was, “so now you’re threatening me are you?” and he responded with, “No I am not threatening you but your computer will be disconnected from the main server in half an hour”. I put the receiver down.

    Your computer contacted me because it is in critical condition – it reported to the main windows server.

    He called back again (4th time) and was very apologetic and asked why I was cancelling the calls and I told him I didn't trust him - he asked why and I told him I was not comfortable with the conversation nor with him nor with the issue he suggested he could fix. He told me he was from Microsoft and advised me to open the RUN screen and type something that provided me with a list of 1778 errors on my laptop.

    This seemed quite credible since my laptop had seemed a little slower than it had previously and when he said he was from Microsoft (again) he sounded plausible but I again said I didn't trust him and he became very angry and said he would terminate my internet connection. I told him not to threaten me and he calmed down somewhat. He then offered to pass me to the 'technical expert' who would help me solve my software problems.

    The 'technical expert' came on the telephone line and told me to go to the RUN box and type www.showmypc.com /ShowMyPC3161.exe

    When I asked why he was asking me to install an ‘exe’ file he became very cagey.

    I asked him who he represented and he said Microsoft. – that is why they knew I had problems with my PC because their server was getting error messages from my PC.

    I put the phone down again since this insistence they were from Microsoft was beginning to wear thin. The calls stopped."

  • January 1, 2016 at 12:49 PM by an anonymous user from: Brandon, Minnesota, United States

    I was tricked by a bogus tech support company. They are very savvy and represent themselves as legitimate Microsoft windows tech specialists. All very official-looking.

    They waited about seven months and then attempted to black-mail me and gain access to my bank accounts. They became very terroristic when I refused to do what they said. It was a nightmare.

    I am out the 239.00 dollars they charged me initially for their services. I had to have my computer wiped clean, and change all my passwords. I will never, ever be a trusting person again.

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Online Technical Support and Customer Service Helpline Scams