No software company and no telecoms provider ever calls a private individual out of the blue to report a technical problem. There is no exception.
Technically, nobody can know from a distance that your machine is having trouble. That information does not exist anywhere, and it is what makes the sign infallible : a call like that is always a scam, however convincing the caller sounds.
The person introduces themselves as a technician from Microsoft, from your provider, or from a security service. The tone is polite and professional. They announce that your computer is sending out alerts, that it is infected, or that your subscription is expiring.
Then comes the demonstration : they have you open a Windows tool showing perfectly normal warning lines, presented as proof of the infection. Next they ask you to install remote access software to "fix" it. Finally comes the payment, for a maintenance contract or a piece of software that does not exist.
The calls often come from a French number, since caller display is easy to falsify. It is no guarantee of anything.
Hang up. Without arguing, without trying to understand, without worrying about being polite. Do not call the number back, install nothing, and give no code received by text. You owe no explanation to someone who calls you for no reason.
If the calls keep coming, your number is on a list that has been resold : there is nothing personal in it, and signing up to a do-not-call register has no effect on calls that are already illegal.
This is the serious case. That person had full control : files, open accounts, passwords saved in the browser. Switch the computer off. From another device, change your email password first, then your bank and your shopping accounts. Call your bank if you entered any code or card detail at all. Then have the machine examined : a clean reinstall is the only serious guarantee here.
Contact your bank immediately to stop or dispute the transaction, and keep everything : the calling number, the amount, the name of the software installed, any emails received. A police report is possible and is often required for the dispute.
Expect to be called back. Victims are frequently contacted again a few weeks later by a supposed refund or fund-recovery service : it is the continuation of the same scam, and it targets those who have already paid once.
It relies on no technical flaw at all. It exploits politeness, doubt, and the assumed authority of the caller. Being caught out has nothing to do with a lack of skill : people who are very comfortable with computers fall for it, especially on a tiring day or after a genuine incident on their machine.
Older people are particularly targeted, because the script borrows codes that are familiar to them. There is one sentence to pass on, and it is enough : you never make a decision on the phone, you hang up and you call someone you trust. We cover these situations in our sessions at home, and our scams page details the variants going around.
From directories, data leaks or resold lists. It does not mean your computer is infected, nor that anyone is watching you.
No. That kind of detail circulates in resold lists, and its whole purpose is to lend the call credibility.
A few minutes are enough to copy files or install permanent access. Have the machine checked and change your passwords from another device, as a precaution.
Would you rather we took care of it ? See our virus removal and cleanup service, in Lyon and across the Rhone.
A check of the machine and of your accounts, without judgement.
Automatic assistant: it can make mistakes. Never share a password or a card number.
