This scam is not new: criminals contact their victims with foreign phone numbers that are almost untraceable and they pretend to be Microsoft experts. During the conversation, they make the victim believe that his computer is infected with malicious programs. Criminals exploit the uncertainty of the user to convince him to connect to remote maintenance sites or to download maintenance software, under the pretext of dealing with the elimination of the virus. In fact, it is a scam. By registering on these sites or by downloading the software, the user gives the unauthorized access to his computer to the criminal who can consequently access his private data or bank accounts.

In the worst case, the victim is not only deprived of his money and data, but also obliged to pay a fee for the restoration of his computer. While at first the attackers spoke mostly English, it is not unusual to find people using French or German.

SECURITYMADEIN.LU advises people who receive calls from an alleged computer expert to hang up the phone and never share any data (credit card number, email address…).