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DEL.ICIO.USNew Windows scam - and this one isn’t from Microsoft
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The latest online scam targeting Microsoft Windows uses an almost universally hated feature of Windows - online activation - to separate you and your money.
It’s really fairly clever. It starts when you turn on your computer. There is an on-screen message saying someone else has activated that same copy of Windows. That, of course, can happen. And with all the publicity about piracy and counterfeit copies of Windows, it sounds sensible enough.
So you’re taken to what looks like the regular Windows activation screen.
That’s where experienced users will see a red flag marking this as a scam. You’re asked to include credit card information. The on screen message says that your card won’t be charged - and assures you that the information is just used to prove your identity. Microsoft does not use credit card information during the activation process. But these crooks do.
You can read about the entire crooked scheme here.
Meantime, if you receive a message like this when you turn on your computer, ignore it and do not go through the “activation” process. All you’re doing is activating some crook’s bank account. The request for a credit card number should be enough to tip you off.
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