Why Is It So Difficult to Report an Attempted Cybercrime?

If you didn’t actually lose any money to a would-be scammer, it’s hard to know where to turn.

A few weeks ago I received a call from a man suspiciously claiming to be from Microsoft’s IT department. I was in a loud area and initially wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly, so I told him that I’d call him back later. When I tried, though, I got a message saying that the number had been disconnected. A few hours later, he called me back—and what ensued was a truly confusing but obvious attempt to access my computer and its files by claiming that someone needed to remotely install updates to “everything” and provide me with access to “all the new programs.”

Thankfully, I’d heard enough about similar things happening to others that I started asking questions. I hadn’t ordered any updates, so what updates was he talking about? Why was he calling me instead of following the normal protocol of sending me a Microsoft-branded email? How did he get my phone number? Could I speak to the manager? If the scheme had had any credibility to begin with, it quickly broke down, as this person passed the phone to his “manager” and said in Hindi, which is one of my primary languages, “This girl is being so difficult. She won’t give me access!”

Full story at Slate.

By Spandana Singh.