Canadian man Jakob Dulisse was threatened with death by a representative of ‘Microsoft Tech Support’ after refusing to play into his scam.
It is a nightmare for many who own a landline telephone; the almost constant bombardment of unwanted and illicit calls from withheld numbers. Scammers, phishers and a whole host of others work through as many individuals as possible, hoping to strike gold in the form of bank details, among other pieces of information.
This is what Dulisse found upon being greeted by a representative of ‘Microsoft Tech Support’. Claiming that Dulisse had a significant problem on his computer, this individual attempted to send him to various insalubrious websites and have him install malware on his machine. He also attempted to procure Dulisse’s bank information, unsuccessfully.
However, unknown to the mystery caller, Dulisse had been playing into the scam all along. After Dulisse stopped playing dumb and challenged the man however, things took a decidedly more sinister turn.
Claiming he knew Dulisse’s full name and home address, the caller claimed he could have Dulisse killed and warned him never to come to India, where they (apparently) take ‘Anglos’ and,
“cut them up in little pieces and throw them in the river.”
Dulisse recorded the whole conversation, which can be found here.
The ‘Microsoft Tech Support’ scam has become one of the largest currently operating, affecting the USA and Canada, though the scam runs globally. According to Microsoft, around 2.8 million Canadians receive a tech scam call in the past year, and of these individuals, around 200,000 have lost money.
Largely, the calls to Canada originate from India and Bangladesh, according to Daniel Williams from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Users should note that Microsoft will NEVER phone them directly for tech support issues, nor will they ever request financial information. Never give control over your computer to a third party, and never pay for a service offered by these firms, which may have long-term implications.
Have you been affected by a tech support scam? Let us know in the comments below.
