[jaringg]

Have any of you had a problem with your PC and asked for Microsoft Help?
I did and got scamed. Here is how it works.

You call Microsoft # and they answer.They claim to be "microsoft certified"
This web site explains it much better than I can.

What happens if you play along with a Microsoft 'tech support' scam? (Wired UK)

A sample of the narrative follows, they got me for $200.00


What happens if you play along with a Microsoft 'tech support' scam?
Technology
11 April 13 by Olivia Solon

Fake Microsoft Support CallJerome Segura

A senior security researcher from Malwarebytes has played along with a Microsoft technical support scammer, documenting the whole episode in a video, to showcase the social engineering that takes place.

For the uninitiated, the scam involves people in Indian call centres ringing up and saying that they are representatives from Microsoft technical support. They then tell the victim that their computer is running slowly because of viruses or because they need an additional piece of software -- at a cost, of course. It's been floating around for almost as many years as the Nigerian money transfer scam and is still going strong.

This week, the scammers called the wrong person: Jerome Segura, a senior security researcher at anti-malware company Malwarebytes. Being familiar with the sting, Segura played along with the female caller, recording the entire episode in a handy YouTube video. It's not the first time that scammees have documented scammers -- there are many videos on YouTube such as this one, this one and this one -- but Segura made an effort to remain calm, not try and troll the scammers and genuinely try and understand the sophistication of the scam. He didn't expect it to turn nasty at the end when the scammers became impatient and deleted a load of files from his computer.

Most Wired.co.uk readers will have a highly-tuned Windows scammer filter, but we'll know of less tech-savvy relatives or friends that might be drawn in. Segura told Wired.co.uk: "Many of my family members have received these calls, so I wanted to play the game to see how the scam worked. My aim was to be totally respectful and play the perfect victim."

As soon as Segura received a call, he decided to turn on his virtual machine and start recording the call and his computer screen. The caller -- initially a woman -- directs Segura to look at his Event Viewer, which logs all Microsoft error reports. She asked him to count the number of red cross-marked errors and yellow warnings, before warning him: "These errors and warnings are very much harmful for your computer. These are major problems and it doesn't matter if you have one or two errors or more than that. Each one has already started corrupting your whole computer system."

She then instructed Segura to enter in "Prefetch" into the start>run menu, which opens up the prefetch folder, which actually keeps track of how your computer starts and which programs you commonly open. She said that these were "malicious hacking files that are making the computer infected and the system slow". She warned not to delete any of the files as they could be activated and crash the computer. "You have 100 hacking files on your computer, you are very high risk."

Segura explains: "The woman really wanted me to be involved and count the errors. It's all about social engineering. But part of the plan is on Microsoft for having errors that look like this [quite alarming]."

The caller then went on to say that that Segura's software warranty had expired after three years and that she then asked him to have a look at the System Configuration Utility services tab. She explained that the reason that some of the services in that tab were marked with a "stopped" status was because a warranty had expired and only a Microsoft technician could start them again.


Make sure you pass this on, its been going on for a long time.

[DouglasMo]

Why did you post a link to the website and then repeat the website information directly underneath it?

[rn1tv]

Also, be aware...I have received numerous calls (several a day) from a number in NY 212-789-4566 stating they are with "Windows." I finally had to block the calls. Do a number search; it is a scam to get access to your computer. Called Seniors vs. crime and they are aware of the scam. Block this number if you have the capability to do so with your phone.

[GatorFan]

I got the call tonight. Hung up on them. They called back.. I Did not answer. After their 3rd attempt and me not answering, they gave up.

[rn1tv]

GatorFan, I hope you are right but I'm afraid you will get more calls. Even though I have blocked the number, the phone still rings once. when I check for the caller, yep it's them.

[golf2140]

When they call me I ask them to wait a second until I get paper and a pencil. I then start asking for their present address, names, telephone numbers etc. When they ask why I tell them that the Attorney General of the state of Florida is trying to locate them so an arrest can be made because of their fraud. For some reason the phone call stops.

[rn1tv]

golf2140, I am definitely going to try that...genius!