When Antivirus Scammers Call the Wrong Guy

ancientribe writes "Phony AV scammers posing as Microsoft dialed the wrong number when they inadvertently phoned a security researcher at home. He lured them into a honeypot to study their actions, and posted the video online here. His main takeaway: they were 'Stone Age' when it came to their tech know-how."

Comments

Sounds familiar

[MrEricSir]

His main takeaway: they were 'Stone Age' when it came to their tech know-how."

So they're exactly like Norton, McAfee, and CA?

Re:Sounds familiar

[sa1lnr]

"That shit ain't funny, it's fucking Insightful."

Great, now we're getting false funnies.

Re:Sounds familiar

[mcgrew]

I've never seen that one before, congratulations! However, it just says (5). You have to click the 5 to see that every single moderator modded you "underrated".

How did you guys manage to hypnotise the moderators? Hey, moderators, could you mail me some cash?

Damn, it didn't work :(

Re:Question- How did scammers do this?

[SScorpio]

In your rage you slammed down the receiver too hard and now the "on hook" button isn't registering correctly?

Re:Question- How did scammers do this?

[Anonymous Coward]

the call is coming from inside the house!

Re:Question- How did scammers do this?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll use logmein to fix your phone issue.

I got one of these, too

[J053]

Happened just the other day. They didn't claim to be from Microsoft, though. I asked the caller what OS was on my computer, and she said "Either XP or 7". I don't have any Windows systems in my house, and the call was interrupting something else I wanted to do, so I just said "Wrong!" and hung up.

Re:I got one of these, too

[Anonymous Coward]

I had a call from these guys once.

I set up a new user account in Ubuntu, and then ran the remote access software they asked me to download in Wine.
The remote software sort of started to work, and connected to something their end, but didn't work enough to give any desktop access.
I was running wireshark too, so could see which IP addresses it was talking to.

So, I just kept babbling stuff, and pretending I did not know how to set up the remote access software properly. Then I started dropping hints about 'the base firewall' and 'asking the officer on duty' to make it seem like I was on a militery base. Then I said that the commander of the computer section wanted to talk the them, and the phone went dead.

Re:I got one of these, too

[neonsignal]

A elderly friend of my parents got one of these scam calls; the caller at the end of the line explained to her that "they could see that there was a problem with her computer" and that they could help her to fix it. She said "there sure is a problem; I took it down to the rubbish tip last month".

Re:I got one of these, too

[Anonymous Coward]

My Mum, continously gets these... One day when I was at her house, she got a call... This is when the fun began... The call goes as follows.

Indian Woman: Hello I am calling from Windows. We have seen that your pc has a virus. We would like to remove the virus from Microsoft.
My Mum: I don't understand my computer is fine. Where are you calling from?
Indian Woman: I am calling from Windows. Our software has informed us that you have a virus, and needs to be removed?
My Mum: I'm just going to put someone else on the phone.
Indian Woman: OK
My Mum: *passes phone to me
Me: *mash 6 random phone buttons.* Hello Madam, you have fallen into a continuously monitored phone number. You have made so many calls pretending to represent Microsoft falsly, that we at Microsoft are now starting to monitor these calls, and have provided a service to record and trace calls.
Indian Woman: I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG! (screamed)
Me: Never the less madam you have twice used our trademarked name Windows. and presented yourself as an employee of Microsoft. Therefore you are breaching various trademark rules and copyright rules. In addition you are liable in the uk for libel as the calls are being recorded.
Indian Woman: I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!!! (screamed even louder in a higher pitched voice)
Me: Never the less you have broken the law. These calls are being recorded, and you have been on the call for a long enough period now for our technical team to have traced the call back to your place of operations. The Indian police should be contacting you within the next few days. To assist them with our joint operations to stop this scam.
Indian Woman: I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!!! (now shouted in such a pitch that it hurt my ears)
Phone: click duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu .

Re:Question- How did scammers do this?

[CanHasDIY]

Um. No. My phone works just fine. I also disconnected the line which should have terminated the call immediate, but the scammer was still talking when I reconnected the line. (I figure they were using some override built into the POTS.)

...Which is precisely why man invented the airhorn.

Next time those bastards grab your line and won't let go, give them a really, really fucking loud reason to.

Re:Not surprising

[oxdas]

There are much better outlets for exceptional scammers and thieves; politics and wall street seem popular right now.

Re:Question- How did scammers do this?

[Bromskloss]

On some phone systems (for example Luxembourg during the eighties), only the caller can hang up a line.

cpu6502, do you remember if you were in Luxembourg in the eighties when this happened?

An awesome telemarketing call I got

[Teppy]

I have a rule for dealing with telemarketers - if they admit they're telemarketing right away, I'll nicely tell them I'm not interested. If they lie, then anything goes. Here's what happened to someone that called me from a "security company:"

Her: Is the business owner there?
Me: Are you telemarketing?
Her: No.
Me: Ok, this is the owner, how can I help you?
Her: Are you aware of the security threats faced by businesses that use the internet?
Me: Oh, yes, I'm well aware of threats. There are all sorts of threats when you're in business.
Her: Does your business use PCs?
Me: Security is a big problem, lawsuits.
Her: Ok, well, we offer a comprehensive...
Me: Because you know, you can be sued for all sorts of things. Employers can be sued by their employees. Business owners have to be very careful.
Her: (Trying to get back to her script) Yes, I'm aware of that. Well anyway, if your business is one of the millions...
Me: For instance, sexual harassment lawsuits, those are a huge concern if you're in business.
Her: I don't think that's ...
Me: Do you realize that people can sue their employer for harassment just because they receive unwanted sexual advances while at work?
Her: No, I didn't, but...
Me: (whispering) So... what are you wearing?

Re:An awesome telemarketing call I got

[gman003]

Oh, I do this all the time to political surveys. Started out just re-using some Monty Python bits ("I believe America should be an anarcho-syndicalist commune...")

I'm pretty sure the Republicans' database lists me as a registered Communist and practicing Norse pagan who believes gay marriage should be mandatory, thinks abortion should be illegal "except for ugly chicks like Hillary", supports using nuclear weapons to secure the Canadian border, watches exclusively Fox News, and has voted for Ron Paul in every election since '92. They seem to have caught on - they haven't called at all since 2010 or so.

If the Democrats ever call, I'm telling them I'm a monarchist, an ordained Coptic Orthodox deacon, and a veteran of the Third Punic War. I may even claim responsibility for the assassination of William McKinley.

Re:What I do

[Anonymous Coward]

Time kept on line:
    2 days ago: 53 mins
    months ago: 1hr 47mins

Useful lines ...
    "I've got my credit card and I really need your help"
    "yeah, I think it has a virus ... it takes literally 10mins to boot" (make 'em wait 10mins)
    "oh, you meant the PC, not the Mac, hold on" ... 10mins
    "The screen has gone blue and it's crashed... I'll reboot" ... 10mins
    "Someone's at the door, I'll be back" ... 5 mins
    "My wife turned it off while I was downstairs, sorry" ... 10mins
    "I bought a ferrari last week, I got a yellow one. Do you like ferraris"...5 mins
    "What's your job? I break legs for a living" (at this point they got suspicious)

Re:Question- How did scammers do this?

[Zapotek]

I used to use a modem for that back in the dial-up days; when I wanted to go on-line but someone in the house was using the phone I sent a message to the modem via the terminal and it started screaching bloody murder.

Re:Get them to hang up the quickest.

[Beardo the Bearded]

One time I got a call from a guy trying to sell a travel service. I try to be polite, since my wife did telemarketing to get through school.

"How often do you travel?"

"I can not leave the country at this time."

"Uh, okay, what about your family, kids?"

"They are quite young, so they wouldn't travel without a parent."

"Okay, what about your wife?"

"I have been advised by my lawyer not to answer any questions about the whereabouts of my wife."

"..."

"..."

"You, uh, you have a good night sir."

Re:Deplorable

[CCarrot]

Right, like the script kitties could tell they where dealing with a Mac...

I just had this adorable image in my head of a bunch of kittens (picture Royale commercials) gamboling around an iMac, batting the mouse around, laying on the top of the monitor and pawing at the screen, puzzled innocence in their wide blue eyes as they try to figure out where the food comes out. Awww... :)

I think the term is actually 'script kiddies', due to the (usual) youth of the wanna-be bad asses. It's simply the difference between the voiced alveolar stop 'd' and the voiceless alveolar stop 't', so it's easy to misinterpret in speech.

Okay, phonetics info-break over, now back to your regularly scheduled discussion...

Re:Can you blame them?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm going to setup a VM with a desktop showing me raping Shiva, shooting and dismembering a cow while holding the Pakistani flag and taking a shit on a set of cricket stumps. The audio would be interesting.

I've had a few of these.

[epp_b]

I've gotten a few of these calls. Some idiot with a foreign accent claiming to be "from Windows" (seriously, those were their words).

My mom gotten them too; she immediately hangs up the phone. One of the scammers actually the gall to call her not two seconds later to scold her that hanging up the phone was rude!

I have a similar idea to this guy, except I'd make a little more fun, though I wasn't sure it would work until now. I'm delighted to see that they use a remote control program. My plan is to let them into a sandboxed VM where I'll have prepared a webpage that launches 500 goatse popups or something. I'll record my session, too, but, uh ... just the phone call ;)

I can't wait to get another one of these calls.

*rubs hands together with an evil grin*