Just a new scam going around the internet....

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havasu

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ATTENTION! Is your computer really in danger?

We have received a few reports from users about an urgent notification on their machines (See attached screenshots). It basically goes something like this
"ATTENTION! Your computer is in danger!" And then it asks you to immediately perform some action, such as "click here to check" or "click here to delete" or "call us immediately at XXX-XXX-XXXX"

These are all scams! If you click on the link, it will download and install malicious software on your computer. If you call a number they ask you to call, it is actually the fraudsters' call center, not Microsoft. After gaining your trust, they will eventually ask for payment and/or offer to connect to your bank to transfer funds.

These scams are actually generated in your web browser when you visit a website which has been compromised or install a malicious browser extension. The hackers will create a very convincing pop-up and may even place the pop-up in the bottom right corner of your computer to make it appear as a legitimate message generated by your computer. The fraudsters will go so far as to setup real call centers with staffed agents to "help" you. They will claim to be from Microsoft or your antivirus vendor or even your corporate help desk.

If you receive this scam alert and/or you fall victim and accidentally click on the link and download software to your device, please consult with a professional IT repair facility.

Please remain vigilant and skeptical of any computer requests asking you to act immediately or warning of imminent danger. It is all part of a very sophisticated and convincing social engineering scam.
 
My SIL almost fell for it. She finally figured out it was a scam and hung up before they got her banking information. She called me for help but there's not much I can do being 100 miles from her house.
This happened the day she bought a new laptop so I wonder if it wasn't infected when she bought it.
 
Ironically, I was talking with this mid 70's gentleman in the waiting room of an automotive service center while getting my oil changed 2 days ago. He said he got this exact message, and went ahead and called the listed number. He gave them permission to access his computer (UGGH!) and within 2 minutes, they told him that he had 74 trojan horses and malware installed. They supposedly cleaned up the problem (UGGH!) and then asked for him to purchase two $500 gift cards as payment to fix his computer. He then realized this was a scam (UGGH!)

I asked him what he has done since this conversation and he said "nothing". (UGGH!)

I recommended that he not turn on the computer until he takes it to a reliable computer repair facility.
 
These videos are by a youtube channel Scammer Payback, he does cyber security for his day job and scams scammers on youtube fur fun and vengeance. The first video seems long and boring but he is pretending to be a sweet old lady, and intentionally babbling to stall the scammer and waste their time. The video shows the steps the scammers take to steal money from the victims.


This next video was just a few days ago and shows how he went to great lengths to track down a victim in Canada to stop her from sending $150k.


He has many videos, many times he tries to work his way into the background of the scammers computers so he can steal their information and delete the scammers files.
 
I'll never forget the time when my mom got a phone call from a scammer. Pretending to be from Microsoft and telling her that her Windows computer was not secure and at risk. She was mid-80's old at the time.

Her response? "I run Linux, you idiot." And she hung up.

I was so proud of her! :)
 
I'll never forget the time when my mom got a phone call from a scammer. Pretending to be from Microsoft and telling her that her Windows computer was not secure and at risk. She was mid-80's old at the time.

Her response? "I run Linux, you idiot." And she hung up.

I was so proud of her! :)
My FIL was the worst for falling for scams before he passed.
The guy on the phone (from Microsoft, of course) who told him his PC was infected, was trying to walk him thru "enable remote access" to get it fixed, and fortunately he asked me for help.
I confess, I did say bad things to the guy on the phone before I hung it up. :waiting:
It's amazing how gullible so many people are.:mad:
MIL was on the phone with a guy supposedly from DirectTV, he was saying they had a transponder on the satellite going bad and were going to have to make a change. He needed her to read off the key-code on the system or HER TV WOULD STOP WORKING!
panic.gif

Fortunately, he couldn't walk her thru pulling up the code and she asked me for help.
When she handed me the phone, I told the guy that it was DirectTV's hardware and if it had a problem, a guy comes out and fixes it for free, and hung up.
I could go on and on with this.:mad:
The moral of this is: Older people were trained to always be polite to everyone and believe what they say.
Watch over them like a hawk! They are very vulnerable to this kind of crap.
 
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I remember a time when Roo was a toddler when we had a land line. I got a call and they claimed to be from Norton. He said my computer was infected from a recent software update. and I needed to down load their updated software to fix the problem. I asked him which computer was infected and he said my 'main one'. I only had one at the time. I asked him which software was the culprit and he said Microsoft Office. I run Open Office by Apache. I asked if he was sure. He told me he was and told me I had to hurry to save all the data on my hard drive. I then asked him if he really knew so much about my computer and the software on it how could I have Microsoft Office on my computer when I never installed it. He told me it came preinstalled when I bought it. I then told him "I didn't know Apple came with Microsoft software." He hung up. I was using an OLD Apple clamshell at the time and it was for web surfing only.

I am aware you can partition a Mac and run PC programs on the partition.
 
The moral of this is: Older people were trained to always be polite to everyone and believe what they say.
I watched several of Scam Baiters videos and there are occasions where youngin's were calling due to the scam message. 20 to 30 year olds who used computers or phones all the time but didn't know computer stuff. I know the retirees are more susceptible but the 20-somethings are not immune.
Either way, any age group can be victims of the scam.
 
I watched several of Scam Baiters videos and there are occasions where youngin's were calling due to the scam message. 20 to 30 year olds who used computers or phones all the time but didn't know computer stuff. I know the retirees are more susceptible but the 20-somethings are not immune.
Either way, any age group can be victims of the scam.
Yes, they have gotten very good at what they do in recent years.
The one recurring thing they have in common that Grimm and Havasu mentioned, is they convince you that you must do something RIGHT NOW!!!
Do not take time to think!
Or you might find yourself saying: "hey, something smells phishy about this!" :oops:
 
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I totally abused a scammer from Nigeria. he was pretending to be some ambassador's daughter, stuck in a refugee camp, she needed 2K for bribes so the guards would take her to some city nearby for an evacuation.
Me: are you one of those video pirates? show me some pictures of your camp.

Him/Her/it? Pictures? I don't know, the guards took my camera!

Me: Use your cell phone, just poke it out the window and pop a few shots so I can see where you are.

Him/Her/it? You are very smart American, I will be back later!
At this point I thought I was rid of the scumbag, but about two days later I get a few mismatched pictures from obviously different areas that looked little like a refugee camp!

Is this enough proof? (insert begging here.)

Me: One last bit of proof, show me your breasts, just so I can see you are who you say you are!

Him/her/it: I am too ashamed! you are a dirty man! (or something like that.) I will think about it.

So next day I get several pictures he either forced his girlfriend to pose for or got online, obviously taken from another camera in another area.
Him/her/It: Is this good? Please send me money soon!

Me: I hate to tell you this, you are a very pretty lady, but I'm a monk in the Voidian order of Nul, we aren't allowed to touch money or even have bank accounts, but my brothers and I will be admiring your (breasts) for weeks on our secret server, thanks. you made a bunch of old men very happy!

Dead silence, that was the last scammer I ever heard from!
 
I got rid of my landline about a year or so ago, and that is where I got most of my scammer calls. With caller ID, I rarely answer calls if I do not know the caller. If someone wants me, they can leave a voice mail, and some scammers do, but most do not.

One morning I got a call from a number I did not know, and I was in the mood to give someone a hard time. I was told all the horrible things that were wrong with my computer and I played along, "Oh, no!! Please help me!" A man, being schooled by someone in the background, tried to talk me through it. I played helpless and couldn't find what he wanted and just kept needing more and more help to do what they wanted me to. When it came time to type in some code, I kept messing it up. They kept trying to get control of my computer, and never could. Finally, I just stopped responding. I probably wasted about half an hour of their time, time they lost for scamming someone else.
 
Weedy,
That is a very dangerous and gutsy thing to do while sitting on a windows machine.
I will play their game for a while because I have some protection and I use Linux OS which is beyond their expertise. The scammers use desktop sharing programs that end in .exe and Linux does not respond by running it. They will spend a lot of time assuming that I have Windows and they keep asking if I have a MAC computer. I say no and remind them that they have information that my Windows computer had problems. Asking them constantly if they are going to help me with m computer... They use very bad language when they find out that I am running Linux because I have wasted their time... I got a call a couple of weeks ago about an "overcharge" on my Amazon account... I don't do business with Amazon at all. They offered to help me fix it but I was occupied so I let them know that I would take care of it by calling my credit card and refusing the payment. Then I said goodbye and thanked them. CLICK
 
Weedy,
That is a very dangerous and gutsy thing to do while sitting on a windows machine.
I will play their game for a while because I have some protection and I use Linux OS which is beyond their expertise. The scammers use desktop sharing programs that end in .exe and Linux does not respond by running it. They will spend a lot of time assuming that I have Windows and they keep asking if I have a MAC computer. I say no and remind them that they have information that my Windows computer had problems. Asking them constantly if they are going to help me with m computer... They use very bad language when they find out that I am running Linux because I have wasted their time... I got a call a couple of weeks ago about an "overcharge" on my Amazon account... I don't do business with Amazon at all. They offered to help me fix it but I was occupied so I let them know that I would take care of it by calling my credit card and refusing the payment. Then I said goodbye and thanked them. CLICK
I'm not really typing in anything. I am just telling them I am. I wouldn't let any of these scammers close to my stuff. I was just playing with them, getting them to waste time.
 
You are a smart person! I won't worry about you but I may feel just a little sorry for the scammers... no, not even a little. You go girl!
 

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