Over 11 pages of notes, so I will keep it brief and focused on what might help others.
Had a Windows 7 problem (details later, if you want). Still under the 90-day "free-help warranty" so called the phone number I had been using: 1-800-642-7676.
Got Lie Ann (sounded Asian with big latency). She said she couldn't help but would refer me to MS Office support. Next person (didn't catch his name) eventually identified himself as XBox support. He said he couldn't transfer me to Office or Windows support, but gave me the direct support number: 1-855-548-3390 for level 7 support. I questioned that number and said it was not like any other MS number I had called. He said, that was the only number he ever uses for MS, and it was for advanced support. He claimed that he had never heard of the 642-7676 number (my first suspicions).
So, I call 855-548-3390. The phone answered, "Thank you for calling Windows/Microsoft Premium Support" (not absolutely sure whether it was Microsoft or Windows). The agent gave her name as Wendy. After I briefly described problem, she went through the usual dialog and on-screen process for remote access, which I had been through before with MS and allowed. The process was identical, including getting a code number. She noticed I had the free version of Avast and immediately suggested I get the purchased version. She then went to event viewer and found lots of events (duh). Then she identified one as a remote access attempt (didn't get a chance to copy its entire IP, it began 68.xxx). That really concerned me. Then, she started to pitch her product. First, it was a guaranteed service plan for unlimited premium support for one year and included lifetime antivirus free. They would install a program that would fix all the errors and keep them from happening again. I asked about updates, she said they weren't necessary. That the program detected all viruses, Trojans, and other malware. I was becoming much more suspicious by this time. She was typing these promises out in a window. I asked about cost (had to repeat that request a couple of times) and she offered it to me at $249.99. After playing along for a bit, I showed reluctance at the high cost based on being old and retired. She supposedly left the phone for a short while to check, which was long enough for me to check 855-548-3390 and find it was assigned to TeQBay in New Jersey. She came back and offered a one-time trial with the premium technician. I asked what that would fix. Answer: they won't fix anything until you subscribe. At least that part was honest. The purpose was to find out how the service worked. I hit ctrl+p to print the promises, and they immediately disappeared. At that point, I became much more hesitant. The more hesitant I became, the harder the sell became. I concluded the call by asking for her contact information so I could think about it. She told me to call the same number and ask for Wendy.
I immediately did a virus scan with Avast. It found 2 instances of FlufferMiner Trojan with the quick scan. Then did a boot level scan. It found another instance of FlufferMiner, 3 instances of BankFraud, and 4 instances of win32:somoto-j (pup). All were deleted. Then called MS and spoke with Rhowee in Windows support. He had never heard of that premium program or phone number. He told me the highest cost for MS service was $150/year. We did a system restore. Everything except Chrome worked and that had to be re-installed.
Searched on TeQBay and find it may be legitimate, but I am not convinced. What I find particularly disturbing is the way LieAnn got me to her associate who got me to TeQBay. I spoke at length with Rhowee about that security breach and he said he would report up the chain. At no time did anyone at MS acknowledge knowing about TeQBay or mention I was being transferred outside the MS system.
Young users may not need this warning. This old guy was almost taken in. Total elapsed time was about 4 hours, including the Avast scans.
Regards, John
Had a Windows 7 problem (details later, if you want). Still under the 90-day "free-help warranty" so called the phone number I had been using: 1-800-642-7676.
Got Lie Ann (sounded Asian with big latency). She said she couldn't help but would refer me to MS Office support. Next person (didn't catch his name) eventually identified himself as XBox support. He said he couldn't transfer me to Office or Windows support, but gave me the direct support number: 1-855-548-3390 for level 7 support. I questioned that number and said it was not like any other MS number I had called. He said, that was the only number he ever uses for MS, and it was for advanced support. He claimed that he had never heard of the 642-7676 number (my first suspicions).
So, I call 855-548-3390. The phone answered, "Thank you for calling Windows/Microsoft Premium Support" (not absolutely sure whether it was Microsoft or Windows). The agent gave her name as Wendy. After I briefly described problem, she went through the usual dialog and on-screen process for remote access, which I had been through before with MS and allowed. The process was identical, including getting a code number. She noticed I had the free version of Avast and immediately suggested I get the purchased version. She then went to event viewer and found lots of events (duh). Then she identified one as a remote access attempt (didn't get a chance to copy its entire IP, it began 68.xxx). That really concerned me. Then, she started to pitch her product. First, it was a guaranteed service plan for unlimited premium support for one year and included lifetime antivirus free. They would install a program that would fix all the errors and keep them from happening again. I asked about updates, she said they weren't necessary. That the program detected all viruses, Trojans, and other malware. I was becoming much more suspicious by this time. She was typing these promises out in a window. I asked about cost (had to repeat that request a couple of times) and she offered it to me at $249.99. After playing along for a bit, I showed reluctance at the high cost based on being old and retired. She supposedly left the phone for a short while to check, which was long enough for me to check 855-548-3390 and find it was assigned to TeQBay in New Jersey. She came back and offered a one-time trial with the premium technician. I asked what that would fix. Answer: they won't fix anything until you subscribe. At least that part was honest. The purpose was to find out how the service worked. I hit ctrl+p to print the promises, and they immediately disappeared. At that point, I became much more hesitant. The more hesitant I became, the harder the sell became. I concluded the call by asking for her contact information so I could think about it. She told me to call the same number and ask for Wendy.
I immediately did a virus scan with Avast. It found 2 instances of FlufferMiner Trojan with the quick scan. Then did a boot level scan. It found another instance of FlufferMiner, 3 instances of BankFraud, and 4 instances of win32:somoto-j (pup). All were deleted. Then called MS and spoke with Rhowee in Windows support. He had never heard of that premium program or phone number. He told me the highest cost for MS service was $150/year. We did a system restore. Everything except Chrome worked and that had to be re-installed.
Searched on TeQBay and find it may be legitimate, but I am not convinced. What I find particularly disturbing is the way LieAnn got me to her associate who got me to TeQBay. I spoke at length with Rhowee about that security breach and he said he would report up the chain. At no time did anyone at MS acknowledge knowing about TeQBay or mention I was being transferred outside the MS system.
Young users may not need this warning. This old guy was almost taken in. Total elapsed time was about 4 hours, including the Avast scans.
Regards, John
