Beware of scam calls offering Microsoft support

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

There have been a number of reports over the last few days of scam phone calls targeting University of Reading staff.

The caller purports to be from Microsoft saying that a computer is unsafe and asking for access to it. If access is given, then they will most likely use this as a way of installing malware on your machine or as a way of asking for payment.

This is a scam and staff should terminate the phone call as soon as they determine it is not legitimate. You should then report this through the IT Portal.

This will allow us to track numbers and ensure that we are able to respond to an increase in reports. No action will need to be taken following the call, unless you allowed the third party to install any software.

General advice to follow to prevent falling victim to these kind of scams:

Be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls, visits, or email messages from individuals asking about employees or other internal information. If an unknown individual claims to be from a legitimate organization, try to verify his or her identity directly with the company.
Do not provide personal information or information about your organization, including its structure or networks, unless you are certain of a person’s authority to have the information.
Do not reveal personal or financial information in email, and do not respond to email solicitations for this information. This includes following links sent in email.

The government's National Cyber Security Centre has up to date advice on cyber-threats and how to protect yourself against these. Cyber Aware is also good resource on the issue.