The Canadian user first received a pop-up notification stating that the victim’s computer needed an update. The message included a phone number that requested to be called. During the phone call, the scammers told the user that the computer’s firewall was outdated, after which the gullible man bought fake software from them and installed it.
The next day, the attackers, posing as Microsoft support staff, contacted the user to make sure the software was working properly. The scammer then told the man that he had accidentally sent money to his account and asked that the user return the funds to him in bitcoins. The victim transferred about $35,000 in BTC to a fake Microsoft employee.
Fraudsters are increasingly posing as employees of large companies, defrauding even experienced traders. A Coinbase customer recently told of phishing scammers posing as the exchange’s tech support who used a similar scheme to swindle money.
In March, the creators of the Sandbox gaming meta-universe also warned users about possible phishing emails on their behalf due to a security breach.