Alice Chambers |
Microsoft has teamed up with Amazon and the Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) to protect customers from impersonation scams, marking the first time the firms have worked together to combat technology support fraud.
The CBI conducted several criminal raids in India against illegal call centres that were set up to impersonate Microsoft and Amazon customer support, according to a press release from 19 October 2023. The illegal calls impacted more than 2,000 customers primarily based in the USA but also in Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain and the UK.
The operation was a joint criminal referral made by Microsoft and Amazon.
“Joining forces helps us more effectively protect individuals globally and prevent criminals from impersonating the Microsoft and Amazon brands to target innocent and unsuspecting victims,” said Amy Hogan-Burney, general manager of associate general counsel, cybersecurity policy and protection at Microsoft India, in a blog post titled ‘Microsoft, Amazon, and international law enforcement join forced to fight tech support fraud’.
As cybercriminals evolve their tactics, Microsoft will continue to evolve its ways to combat them, such as collaborating with law enforcement to carry out over 30 call centre raids and more than 100 arrests to date.
Microsoft is also reminding its customers to remain vigilant to suspicious activity online.
“Microsoft will never send unsolicited email messages or make unsolicited phone calls to request personal or financial information, or to provide technical support to fix your computer,” said Hogan-Burney. “Any communication with Microsoft must be initiated by you. Always treat all unsolicited messages with scepticism and do not provide any personal information.”