I am writing about this particular scam because it is so plausible. (First, this does not originate from Microsoft, just people purporting to be from Microsoft.)
I have received a phone call. The person on the other end of the phone informs me that I have a problem with my computer. This is causing issues and may cause my computer to be blocked from the internet. Now, as someone who knows the capabilities of malware, this is not beyond the realms of possibility. The main slip-up was that they told me how to access Windows control panel. I did play along for a while before revealing that I do not use Windows.
Here is an article from someone who played along for a little longer before revealing his hand. He was blocked from the internet, because they deleted his network driver!
[ss_screenshot width=’300′ site=’https://blog.malwarebytes.org/intelligence/2013/04/phone-scammers-call-the-wrong-guy-get-mad-and-trash-pc/’ align=’right’]
My expectation was that they would install a Trojan… I had not expected them to be so ‘hands-on’. Other scammers may try other ways to affect your computer. In the most recent call, I asked them who they were calling from – the line went dead.
Do you have experience of this type of scam? Let me know, as I am thinking of writing a tutorial, if enough people are interested.
By the way, the linked blog is from Malwarebytes. I have used their anti-malware software with Windows to great effect.
Thanks
