Microsoft has a unique way of fighting pirated app users. They offer a 50% discount for users using pirated Office applications.
This discount is for Microsoft 365 services that offer applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Skype, and OneDrive. But the discount given is only for the subscription fee for a year.
Users of pirated Office applications can get this discount offer via the ribbon bar in the Office application on their device. This discount can only be claimed by users who click on the link on the ribbon.
After that they will be directed to the official Microsoft website which claims that pirated applications make the user's PC a security threat. Microsoft warns that pirated Office applications risk carrying viruses, malware, data loss, identity theft, and difficulty getting important updates.
This discount is offered for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family editions. After being cut by 50%, the price of the Microsoft 365 Personal edition is USD 34.99 per year, while the Family edition is USD 49.99 per year, as quoted from The Verge, Saturday (11/12/2021).
Microsoft has previously put up a banner inviting users to use the original Office. But the move of offering a half price discount like this is quite rare.
Unfortunately, this discount is not available for Office 2021 which can be used forever without the need for an annual subscription. It seems that Microsoft really wants to boost the number of Microsoft 365 subscribers, which currently number 50 million.