Tech support scammers take tips from ransomware to make you pay up

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They’re getting serious by locking your system before demanding a fee.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/tech-support-scammers-learn-lessons-from-ransomware-to-lock-your-pc/

Jerry

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They’re getting serious by locking your system before demanding a fee.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/tech-support-scammers-learn-lessons-from-ransomware-to-lock-your-pc/

Jerry

The only comment I have on that linked article, got 2 of those calls just today, is that they NEVER say Microsoft, it’s always something like Windows Support Group or Windows Technical Support. By not saying Microsoft they stay away from the legal implications of trademark/copyright infringement.

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

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The only comment I have on that linked article, got 2 of those calls just today, is that they NEVER say Microsoft, it’s always something like Windows Support Group or Windows Technical Support. By not saying Microsoft they stay away from the legal implications of trademark/copyright infringement.

Got another such call just 4 hours ago from Windows Technical Group.

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

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The only comment I have on that linked article, got 2 of those calls just today, is that they NEVER say Microsoft, it’s always something like Windows Support Group or Windows Technical Support. By not saying Microsoft they stay away from the legal implications of trademark/copyright infringement.

One time a scammer told me he was from Microsoft. They do sometimes say that.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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Any idea why you’re so popular with them?
I’m trying to remember… it seems like I only get one or two such calls in any given year.

Image or Clone often! Backup, backup, backup, backup......
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Any idea why you’re so popular with them?
I’m trying to remember… it seems like I only get one or two such calls in any given year.

Not a clue, wish I could find out, my state’s Attorney General will want to have a chat with them.

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

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Any idea why you’re so popular with them?
I’m trying to remember… it seems like I only get one or two such calls in any given year.

I’m also very popular with them. I’ve had 4 calls in a day before and 2 within 15 minutes on a couple of occasions.

If I’m not busy, I usually have some fun with them.

As other have mentioned, play along with them if you are confident you know what not to do. One trick is they take you into Event Viewer and tell you all the errors in the System log indicate files being sent from your PC. At that point I just said “No they’re not”. He responded with “Who told you that?”, to which I replied “I’ve been in IT for over 30 years and I know exactly what the events are”. There was a short pause then he says “You work in IT?”, me “Yes”, pause, click of phone hanging up. I haven’t laughed so much in months!!

The other trick is that your PC is VERY slow and every step takes several minutes. Then as some point, you say your PC has crashed and it takes a long time to restart, another 10 minutes goes past, “now can you tell me what I need to do again?”, each step takes several minutes……..

I’ve had at least 3 of them tell me I’m wasting their time!! I consider that a victory!

Of course, depending on your mood at the time, you can always take the traditional route of calling them something very unpleasant. If you have friends from India, they can help you with some choice insults. I did this to one some time back and she actually rang me back to ask if I’d told her to F off. I said “yes, you called me, lied to me and tried to steal my stuff, I think telling you to F off is entirely reasonable, now F OFF”.

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What I would like to do with these scammers is when they call, just say ‘half a minute’, then (off phone) say ‘Hey Gibbs, we got another of these scammers, put a trace on the call’, then in a different voice, say ‘Yes boss’. I just wonder if they will stay on the phone….

Eliminate spare time: start programming PowerShell

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I demand to know how they got my number and then explain it’s a private line to the Sacramento Police Dept. That usually ends it…

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Nah, the best game is to see how long you can keep them on the line. OK, yes, OK, yes, OK its done can you access my computer now? No? Well I did everything right, shall we go over it again? . . . . Nothing like breaking into a laugh towards the end as the exasperated SOB is giving up.

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I have several computers and have never received a phone call in over 20 years from anyone offering support.
I have received other scam calls though.= but nothing computer related..

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