SCAMMERS CALLING, NOT MICROSOFT
I’ve had too many calls with stories similar to this in the past few weeks.
The story has many different variations and can come in the form of an pop-up, and e-mail, or even a phone call. The message is something like “Your computer has a vulnerability…” or “We need to validate your software…” or something like that. You are then directed to click on a link, or go to a web-site, or are instructed to type a series of commands in on your computer.
The problem is Microsoft or Adobe or any other software company will not contact you out of the blue to fix any problems to validate your password. These are scams designed to get access to your computer. This access will be used to compromise your e-mail and any other accounts, get your credit card number, steal your social security number and a variety of other very serious things. (Can you say identity theft?!)
Bottom line is delete these e-mails, hang up on these phone calls, and close out (X in the corner) any pop-up messages. Also, I recommend to run a good Internet Security Software which can help with malicious links and websites. They can help but will not stop them if click the links to let them in.
YouTube: The Cop and The Scammer TWO - Microsoft Technical Support Scam
Contact me if this has happened to you and you need help getting your computer back to a pre-compromise state. Also don't forget to contact your bank and credit card companies to see if you need to change your account / card numbers.