The Unstoppable 'Tech Support' Scam

Barence writes "A pernicious new type of scam is targeting British computer owners, reports PC Pro. The con is both fiendishly clever and ridiculously simple. The fraudster cold-calls the customer and tells them that Microsoft has detected a virus on their PC, then invites them to download a piece of remote-assistance software. No doubt reassured by the lines of indecipherable code flitting across their screen, the caller assures the customer they can make the virus vanish – but first, of course, they want payment. £185 to be precise. The spoof site behind the scam is approved by McAfee's Site Advisor and bears Microsoft logos, something which both companies have failed to act upon. Meanwhile, an assortment of British regulators have said there is nothing they can do to stop it."

Comments

Charge them with fraud

[doconnor]

I'm pretty sure lying to convince someone to give you money is a criminal offense. Saying that they are from Microsoft or that they have detached a virus are lies.

The penalty should be Death

[AthleteMusicianNerd]

I think some viruses are bad enough to warrant the death penalty. Sometimes these things manage to shut down companies, costing millions of dollars. We should just kill these people who write these things.

That being said, I feel that the cure is worse than the disease. As long as I don't get a keystroke recorder stuck on my machine where they can get my bank info, I'd prefer not to have McAfee or Norton corrupting my machine.