Ben Potter of Hayes is warning others about a scam that has led to him receiving around 20 phone calls a day. Potter’s home phone number (804-642-7676) is very similar to Microsoft’s Support line, (1-800-642-7676). Scammers are instructing individuals to contact his number or give up personal information.

He said in the last 15 years he’d get occasional phone calls from strangers looking for Microsoft technical support. The frequency of these calls has sky-rocketed recently.

Potter said he receives about 20 phone calls a day from people who were told to call him after having error messages pop up on their computers. If they don’t call his number, someone else spoofing his number will call them claiming that fraudulent activity had been found on their Microsoft or bank accounts.

“I have talked to people in about 10 different states and just recently contacted by a detective in Ohio due to a victim’s family member reported my phone number as the number used to scam a family member out of $300 in gift cards,” said Potter. “Once I spoke to this detective and explained this situation, he was satisfied that I was not the scammer.”

Potter said he wants people to know that they’re being scammed when instructed to contact Microsoft Support by calling his phone number, 804-642-7676. He said people should not give those individuals or pop-ups any of your personal information. If in doubt, call the real Microsoft Support Line (1-800-642-7676) instead.