According to the press release, criminals posing as computer security experts contacted the victims over phone and told them that they were at the risk of a computer security threat. The scammers then persuaded targets to reveal personal data after gaining their trust by claiming to represent legitimate companies (including Microsoft) and using telephone directories to refer to their victims by name. The scammers are believed to run through a range of deception techniques designed to steal money upon successfully leading the victims to trust their authenticity.

Read full article in the International Business Times.