Police help Microsoft stop security help desk scam

Microsoft has successfully called in the help of U.K. police to stop an e-mail scam that urges users to call a special number to get help securing Windows.

The number, which actually connected the caller to a real Microsoft number but charged a bit more, was disconnected Thursday around noon U.K. time.

A Microsoft spokesman confirmed they are "working with U.K. law enforcement to investigate the e-mail scam."

"We don't think it is appropriate that somebody should defraud our customers and of course it is our obligation to pursue any such action," the spokesman said.

E-mail messages claiming to be from "Microsoft Technical Support" and telling readers to call a national rate number in the U.K to obtain a "vitally important" Windows security update first started appearing late December 2002.

Charges for calling a national rate number vary by phone operator, but are typically between £0.08 (13 cents) and £0.10 a minute. The owner of the number would typically only get a small part of that, said a spokeswoman for Oftel, the U.K. telephone regulator.

The scam is small, generating only several hundred U.K. pounds for the perpetrators, according to a person familiar with the situation. Microsoft has requested of the telephone carrier involved that proceeds will be frozen pending police investigation, the spokesman said.

Even though the 0871-750-1250 phone number in the e-mail can only be reached from inside the U.K., the e-mail has been sent to users around the world and has caused some confusion, according to postings in online discussion groups.

Microsoft advises users to always use a trusted reference when contacting the company. This can be a phone book, numbers listed in manuals, or the official Microsoft.com Web site. "E-mail is easy to fake," the spokesman said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.