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65,000 Complaints Later, Microsoft Files Suit Against Tech Support Scammers
MojoKid (1002251) writes Tech support scammers have been around for a long time and are familiar to most Slashdot readers. But last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had issued lawsuits against several culprits responsible for tech support scams. Now Microsoft has announced that it too is going after tech support scammers. According to the company, more than 65,000 complaints have been made about tech support scams since May of this year alone. Bogus technicians, pretending to represent Microsoft, call the house offering fake tech support and trick people into paying hundreds of dollars to solve a non-existent issue. If successful in their ruse, the scammer then gains access to a person's computer, which lets them steal personal and financial information and even install malware.
I managed to keep one of these guys on the phone for about 20 minutes while I stumbled through his directions, over and over, "rebooting," pretending to be using Windows, etc; the next one caught on more quickly. Have they called you? If so, how did the call go?
If I have the time I like to keep these people on the phone. My record so far is an hour and fifty minutes. I have a honeypot system ready to go and it's fun and informative to see how they operate. Keeping them busy means they have less time to prey on somebody else less compueter savvy. I see it as a public service.
Until a local hospital calls you to let you know your kids got a broken leg...
Boring Little Story About My Windows
Right... and that's why you always pirate windows.
It's sad that the pirated version of an OS is better than the legit version, but with windows it's a fact.
I understood that reference.
Nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained -Tom Baker, Doctor Who
The person who called me didn't get far because I told him right away that I know it's a scam.
Then he threatened to kill me and my family. That was a little unsettling.
Scammer: We have detected a denial of service attack launched from your IP address. You need to follow our instructions right now or all of your billing information will be all over the web.
Me: How did you find all of this out?
Scammer: The Microsoft security server flagged your computer as launching a DOS attack on the Whitehouse web site and then began sending out your credit card information to a torrent. There is no doubt that your identity is being hacked. Check your bank account to see if there are any transactions not authorized by you.
Me: So you work for Microsoft?
Scammer: Yes. This is Microsoft support. That's how we know that your computer has been compromised.
Me: You are not. You are a f*n scammer! I don't even have a windows computer on my network.
Scammer: Well, it is your IP address that is originating the DOS attack. What operating system do you run?
Me: Fedora 20 Heisenbug development release.
Scammer: That may be why. There is a vulnerability in the latest development release of Fedora that would allow attackers to do exactly what your computer is doing now. Your identity is being broadcast all over the Internet as we speak. Can you halt your computer?
Me: Let me take a look at the network traffic first.
Scammer: ...
Me: Wireshark shows no incoming or outgoing traffic that is out of the ordinary.
Scammer: That's what I am trying to tell you. The vulnerability sends the packets using the raw network interface so you will not see the packets in any traffic captures.
Me: Wait one second! I know the network stack in Fedora backwards and forwards. Traffic is captured from the Ethernet interface just before it is shipped out over the wire.
Scammer: The exploit actually replaces the Ethernet driver. What you are seeing is what the hacker wants you to see and no more. If you aren't going to shut down your computer, I will! Give me the root password!
Me: lol
...so far is 3 hrs 49 min.
We've also seen a sharp decrease in infantile mortality rates, disease spread, disease mortality, and much more besides in the past few decades. So aside from your fairly obvious strawman (not wanting to drive through long tunnels, really?),
Yes, really. A passenger in a car I was driving pulled out his phone going through the Squirrel Hill tunnel near Pittsburgh and was nervous about it for the short time we were in the tunnel. Another got very nervous while driving through Northern PA, and actually wanted me to pull over so he could hop outside the car to check to see if he could get a signal that way. Another stood on the roof of his car trying to get s sign. Just in case.
You'll be glad the person who sees you get into a car crash has a cellphone on them.
Especially when they were texting and the cause of the accident
Which is also part of my smartphones as an addiction jeremiad. Do you deny that it is a dangerous thing to text and drive? Anyone who TWD's puts their life and others at real risk every time they are doing it. But they think it is okay, and important, otherwise they wouldn't do it. Deny that is an addiction - it is electronic meth.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.