Interesting article on the scams. I want to share something that is a scam but it is humorous how one man handles it. The call and pretend to be from Microsoft and they see there is a threat to your computer and would like to hook up to your system and repair it. This man says he replies back with "I don't own a computer what are you talking about?" It confuses them. 

I did fall for one scam one time because I bought a computer from a used electronics sales going on at the Expo Center in the city I lived in. The scammer sent me an email and said they noticed I have piracy software on my computer and I needed to pay for it. I thought, well since it was used, maybe the man who sold it to me, did add software that was illegal so I paid. A couple of years later I bought a brand new computer and the store put software on that I paid for at the store. I received the same email notice, they noticed I had piracy software on my computer. I knew what I had was good, I had paid for all of it. I contacted Microsoft and found out later, that Microsoft had did some investigating and the people who had wrote me were fakes, and scamming monies out of many, many people, It was in the news. 

I would say, no matter what, such as in the first scenario, even though I bought the computer used, I should have called and contacted Microsoft and verified I was actually getting an email from Microsoft. 

I never follow links anymore, I call the number I find listed in the phone book or the main website. I detest telemarketers, even if I normally would buy from a well known company (which I have never received a telemarketing call from anyone I have ever heard of), I will never buy from anyone who tries to sell me something over the phone. I don't like some using something such as my phone which I pay for the service, using it to make money off of me.