Do GoDaddy, Google, and Microsoft Call You on the Phone?

“I got a call from Google services to help me with my web site for a free checkup, which I took advantage of. Then they wanted to sell me website management services which included SSL, SEO, AdWords, and anti-malware services.”

Does Google Call You on the Telephone?

Answer: No.

Do not engage in a conversation about your site or any of the service offers that you receive by phone from anyone identifying themselves as a “Google representative.”

There is no way Google is going to hire people to call every potential web site owner of the 1.74 billion websites in the world, to try to “help them.” Not gonna happen.

It’s hard enough for them to keep up with the thousands of customer service calls they receive every hour of every day. Genuine Google reps will only call you, if you’ve opted to have them call you back as an alternative to waiting on hold, otherwise, this is a scam.

“I got a virus on my computer, a Microsoft Defender pop-up came on my screen, notifying me of the dangerous infection. I could not use my machine. The pop-up graphic noted an 800 number for me to call Microsoft support. Before I could make the decision of calling the number, my cell phone rang. Caller ID showed the same 800 number, I answered the call and the problem was solved while giving them full access of my laptop remotely.”

Does Microsoft Call You on the Telephone?

Answer: No.

No, Microsoft support does not call you out of the blue, does not infect your machine with a virus and prompt you with an 800-number to call to regain access to your machine. Note: this is a recent upgrade, where the virus-scam authors auto dial your number of record.

Others have reported getting calls from Microsoft for free scanning for viruses and malware on your device. (of course with all this free stuff, something will come up that can be solved by paying a small fee the first time, a larger fee the second time, and for a third higher fee, your problems will be resolved instantly and for free any time this problem comes up again. (Which means they delete their malicious programming from your system.) Or something similar.

“I routinely get calls from someone identifying themselves as a GoDaddy representative or account executive offering me products to fix, upgrade, or protect my web site. It’s extremely annoying and the calls appear to be coming from India, not Scottsdale, Arizona, using a fake US phone number.”

Does GoDaddy Call You on the Telephone?

Answer: Yes and No

Firstly, Yes. GoDaddy does have the most aggressive sales effort exploiting their own list of contact information, which you allow them to do as part of your customer agreement when you get any service from them at any time.

Secondly, No. Because GoDaddy does use the outbound call center sweatshops to market their wares, it’s fairly easy to pose as a representative of GoDaddy and commit all kinds of scams and crimes while impersonating a GoDaddy rep. So, any time you get a call from GoDaddy, you have a 50/50 chance of it being a total scam. And caller ID is no help because faking a phone number is a very common practice among criminals, scammers and cheaters of all kinds, referred to as “Spoofing.”

Back to GoDaddy: If you don’t believe me about the aggressive sales campaigns, just call GoDaddy support at any time and see how the “caring” customer support staff tries to sell you everything under the sun, using a lot of fear tactic. This is a problem any time you have support staff which gets commissions from upselling.

It is a brutal world out there, and you might ask,

“Aren’t there laws against these kinds of crimes?”

The answer is, “Yes,” there are, but the laws in the United States which protect Americans from these kinds of scams and crimes only apply to potentially criminal activity which originates from within the border of the USA.

Outside the USA, the phone scams are spreading like a virus, and millions are being made off of the unsuspecting Americans, whose only mistake was to pick up the phone and say, “Hello?”