I think I feel for a sophisticated scam this afternoon from people that claimed to be Microsoft employees. Had to do

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Hello,

Microsoft doesn't "cold call" anyone. This 'tech support' scam has been around in various forms for a long time. The scammers want remote access to a computer because they will use it to try and steal access to information on the computer -your social security numbers, bank account numbers, passwords, etc.

I would report the matter to your bank as you will likely need new cards issued and they may want to close your account and open a different one for you (they could tell you better than I could what they recommend). Same is true of any credit cards, you may need new cards issued.

You may also want to get your computer looked at to ensure there's no malware installed on the computer.

Wow, that is very sophisticated!
I wouldn't feel bad though -these scams have been around a long time, and criminals have had ample opportunity to improve upon them over and over.

Microsoft has put out warnings in the past like this one:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4013405/windows-protect-from-tech-support-scams#:~:text=It%20is%20also%20important%20to,support%20to%20fix%20your%20computer.&text=Error%20and%20warning%20messages%20from%20Microsoft%20never%20include%20a%20phone%20number.

But it's impossible to warn against everything. Bot***** *****ne, they don't solicit people -consumers have to come to them is what they are saying.

(And you can ignore the phone call offers, those come from the site, not me, sorry). We can chat here.

You may also want to file a complaint regarding the scam with the Federal Trade Commission, which you can do here:

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-1

Yea, I would definitely make a point of contacting your bank and credit card companies tomorrow. Sorry you have to spend time with that hassle!

I think we pretty much covered it. One thing I will say is that sometimes -not all the time --but sometimes, once a person has been scammed, it can sort of "open the floodgates" to lots of other scammers trying to take advantage of you. So, just be cautious over the next several weeks for anything that seems suspicious.

Oh, and it wouldn't hurt for you to also review your credit report (which you should do once a year anyway for errors). You can get a free credit report once a year by going to annualcreditreport.com

Looks like right now, the 3 credit bureaus are actually offering free weekly reports through April of 2021.

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Thanks so much! I appreciate the opportunity to assist.