Yes Microsoft knows about these scams but other than warn folks there is little they can do, especially if they are calling from overseas call centers.  Here is the link to Microsoft's website about these scams.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/online-privacy/avoid-phone-scams.aspx

I am definitely pissed off. Got a call from this number from a fellow saying that my computer was not responding to microsoft updates. So I went through all the  searching etc with him . They then  took control of my computer and apparently fixed it. I bought a 159.99 program that they said was good for a year. Then today I get a call from another company apparently asociated with microsoft and my computer is apparently still not working. But I did not purchase anything forom them. This is a scam. I wishh  someone could stop them. would

Leo strikes again. This time he refers to his company as Online Computer Expert and he was calling from Window Technical Support department.  It sounds like a scam from the beginning so I told him that I will check him out first before answering any his questions. Thank you for everyone's report on this forum.  It helps.

Got a call from a Mike Brenden who said he was from Online Pc Experts, a service provider for Windows, told him he called from an unlisted number and so I needed his info to check him out and then call him back, obviously a scam, he wanted to know what type of anti virus software I was running,,,,,,,,,does microsoft know

Received a call from a man with an Indian accent who said his name was 'Leo' calling from Online PC Expert in Texas. He said that my computer was sending 'technical difficulties' messages to their company and he was going to help me to delete the error messages on my computer. I took his number  (281 404 7528) and went along with him into 'my computer' then into the 'manage' link  then 'event viewer' where there were a number of error messages. I clicked on a few of the errors as he told me to and he got very dramatic when i said there was no delete option. He had a 2 second (literally) conversation with his tech manager and came back to tell me to go to 'run' in the start menu and type in 'info junk' but  my phone started playing up so I didn't complete the step. He called back numerous times but said I' d call back once my phone was charged. He seemed reluctant for me to call him back.

Can't believe, I bit the apple....Leo strikes again. I got scammed. BE FOREWARNED. The prospect of my computer crashing immediately causes panic and even otherwise intelligent people can stop thinking clearly.

The same thing happened with me today. They did the same event viewer thinggy and finally took me to the conclusion that my computer is 98% corrupted and can crash anytime. To resolve this issue, they told me to purchase a software for $100. I played dumb and told them that I don't have a credit card and will do it later. I am glad they were not able to convince me in a 45 minute talk :D

BUT I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS HERE, IF THERE IS AY TECHNICAL EXPERT HERE. First, how did they know that CLSID number on my computer, cuz thats the one due to which they took me in their confidence. Next thing, what  that command that led me to the conclusion that my computer was "98% corrupt". The name of the command was "tree" that I run in the command prompt after going two steps down to the C directory. PLEASE ANSWER THIS SO THAT IT CAN HELP ME AND POSSIBLY ANY OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL. THANK YOU.....

The call is obviously not from Microsoft judging from the poor quality of the phone transmission.  They will make repeated calls if they think they have a chance of gaining access to your computer, with many of the calls at very early times of the day, 5:30 am, 6:00 am, etc.

My call display did not show their full number, just 783-0444.  I asked the caller "John Davis" for his phone number due to the poor quality phone line, and he gave me "281-404-7528" which is the number for this forum.

Don't waste your time with these crooks, unless you want to have some fun and you have a spare half hour or so.  If you pretend to be a hard of hearing, computer illiterate, gullible, very slow individual, they will go out of their way to gain access to your computer and if you carry it on long enough to be moved up their chain of command, they will end up swearing heavily, calling you all kinds of rude names about your mental well-being before hanging up on you.

received call from someone very hard to understand wanting to fix my windows problem (which I don't have).  Asked for his number so I could call him back to be sure this was a legitimate call and he gave me the above number.  I did not call back and later in the evening received another call from this number but did not answer as I think a scam is involved.

Same with me

Below is a copy n paste from another forum explaining the scam:-

I get these phone calls about one a week. Last time, I was ready for them: I had a machine set up with a clean XP installation, so I played dumb to see what they would do.

They pose as "Windows Support Centre", or suchlike, and say that they've been receiving reports from your computer that there's a problem. You'll probably be asked how old the machine is - however old it is, seemingly, you'll be told that the warranty on your Windows software has expired, or that you should have taken one out when you bought it. Then, you'll be talked though opening something called the Event Viewer, and shown a screen that contains a number of warnings and errors. They will tell you that this is serious, even to the extent that it's causing problems that might force your ISP to cut your connection and/or inform the police.

Let's stop here and make two points:

1. There may well be something called a "Windows warranty". However, I have been a Microsoft Partner for nearly a decade, and I've never heard of such a thing. I think we can assume that if such a thing existed, Microsoft would be sending me lots of information on how I can make money selling it. They haven't, because there isn't.

2. I've never seen an Event Viewer that didn't have warnings and errors, and I've been a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer since 1999. Its function is to keep a record of everything that happens to the operating system so that people like me can find out what's happening if something has gone wrong. Most of the time, though, there's nothing to be alarmed about - in my case, most of the warnings were due to a printer not being found on the network because I'd switched it off.

OK, so the next stage is that you get passed to the "Technical Department". This is where it got interesting: I was told that a six digit support number was being generated so that my problem could be resolved, and I was directed to a website called logmein123, where I could enter this number. Now, this is a common tool used by people like me to fix machines over the network - clients call me with a problem, I can connect to the machine and show them what to do without having to leave my office. In this case, they were going to "fix" my machine. So I let them in. At this point, we will pause for a warning:

WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME ON YOUR MACHINE. I WAS GIVING THIS GUY COMPLETE ACCESS TO MY COMPUTER. HE COULD DO ANYTHING HE LIKED, TRANSFER FILES TO INSPECT AT LEISURE, ETC. I WAS USING A MACHINE WITH NOTHING ON IT BUT THE OPERATING SYSTEM. REPEAT: DO NOT LET ANYONE YOU DO NOT KNOW AND TRUST ONTO YOUR SYSTEM IN THIS WAY.

The first thing was that as soon as he connected, I could see the IP address he was connecting from, and I was able to trace this back to a company name, and trace the company back to its offices in Mumbai. While I was doing this (on another machine), I was watching a rather nasty piece of software being uploaded to my machine and installed. A bit of fiddling around, and I was asked to try running a few programs. Lo and behold, they all crashed with frightening looking error messages - remember, this was a machine that was working perfectly a few minutes before. This was explained as a consequence of the problems that I was having before, and that the diagnostic program they were running was now blocking programs that could get me into trouble.

This was the point at which I was asked for money - they started at £100 to fix the problem I already had, with an additional £80 for a simple one year warranty to protect me in the future, or if I preferred, I could give them £299 for an all-in package including fix, anti-virus software and a five year warranty. Visa and Mastercard accepted. If I didn't want to go ahead, then I wouldn't be able to do anything with it until it was fixed.

At this point I let him know what I was doing, complete with telling him the name and address of the company he was working for. I expected him to hang up on me, but he decided to argue with me, at one point telling me that I wasn't an MCSE and I didn't know what I was talking about. In the end, I just told him that if he had been in this country, he could expect to be arrested, and hung up on him.

So, in summary, I wasted my time in this way so you don't have to. If these pirates call you, don't say a word. Just put the phone down.

Just got a call from this number claiming to be Microsoft technical support.  Claiming to be Leo and offered to help me go in to my computer and delete some files, otherwise hackers could get in.  He is probably the hacker, don't do it!  Scam!

Claiming to be Mr. Harry from Microsoft. Claiming my coputer will crash.

Scam do not do anything.

this number has called twice saying they are from microsoft. the caller said "dont blame me if your computer crashes" i hung up on him.

Claiming to be a microsoft rep to fix the computer. They are not. It is a scam! Dont do anything!