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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?
"...the next one caught on my quickly." (?)
was the magic number 65536?
Maybe the complaint system only support 2^16 entries?
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.
Those fools call me at least once a week. I have asked to be removed from their call list many times and it does no good at all. And I tell them that I would never have a Windows machine in my home and even that does nothing to stop them. The one answer to all of this is to require all solicitation calls to use a specific prefix both on PCs and on phone lines. That way any sales call in itself would be a felony if that special prefix is not displayed clearly.
I've gotten a half dozen calls and they were all great. Approaches I have taken include 1) Getting panicky because I can't find the Start button. "Did the virus make it go away?" Then asking if having a Mac was the reason I can't find it. 2) Asking if the virus was the reason I had so many pictures of naked men doing disgusting things to other naked men 3) Asking the female scammer if she was married. "Would you like to marry me?" she asked. "I dunno, we should get to know each other. What's your email address?" She gave me something that seemed sort of reasonable but it didn't actually work. What a surprise 4) Not being able to find the right key because I kept mixing up left from right, and top from bottom. 5) Asking "Are you proud of your job? Is this really the best job you could get? We know you are scamming people. Would your mother be proud of you?" I can't wait for the next call.
he has mild Alzheimer's, but enjoys talking on the phone with anyone. he knows nothing about computers.
I run a call blocker on my android phone that only allows people in my contacts list through. Keeps the riffraff out -- an endless swarm of poor quality technical recruiters, phone soliciters, scammers and Comcast salespeople. Best $3 I ever spent.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
before I got bored. He, and his "supervisor of tech support" was already spitting mad so when I thanked him for playing the fool and provide me with some laughs it pushed him over the edge. My shtick is to pretend to be an elderly man, who off course has trouble hearing so they have to s p e l l r e a l s l o w l y and i still mess it up, have them explain the internet (isn't it that cable thingy that I plug in the wall? You want me to disconnect it?) all while obviously being vey very worried about them virus things. I've seen them talk about it on TV. Is it like Ebola? I don't want to get that.Of course none of his instructions worked because I don't use Windows.
The trick is to appear complaint while being confused and incompetent. The couple of times he doubted my old age gimmick I thanked him and joked the ladies tell me that as well.
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
I usually say I have 25-30 computers, and ask them to tell me which one has the problem. Reasoning that they called me and must be able to know which unit it is. They will either be confused and pass me to the "next support level" or say it doesn't matter which unit I log in to. At that point I insist they tell me which unit it is. By this time they usually use some foul language and/or simply hang up. Mission accomplished.
If automakers built cars that crashed as often as all the versions of Windows, the earth's population would be about 1,000 people today.
*** Don't be dull.***
the next one caught on my quickly
That must've stung.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Is it me, or has wasting the time of these asshole scammers become a rather popular sport among IT folks?
I personally jacked one around for about 30 minutes. The best part was at the end, when I told him my hobby was murdering cows for no good reason. Dude got PISSED.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
All the trademarks. Middle of the day, thick Indian accent, said he was from Microsoft support, said there was a problem.
He really was. He was calling me about a ticket I had opened with Azure support. Go figure.
I pride myself with the fact that once Jehovah's witnesses called me and they themselves decided to hang up on me. I don't recall what I said exactly but I listened attentively, I actively engaged in a discussion, I never raised my voice and I always remained courteous. Now I realize I must be a absolute and genuine bastard. No matter how hard I try, my bastardness seems to ooze out out of every hole and pore of my body. Damn, my goal in life of becoming lovable remains far away on the horizon of my journey.
I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
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.
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
Most of these are little sweatshop ops out of India, China and Eastern Europe.
Microsoft can scream at the FTC all damn day. These guys, if caught, just uproot, disappear, and come back under another business name, registering new phone numbers, etc.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
This place reads like a combination of Penthouse Letters, Soldier of Fortune, and Byte magazine.
I used to get these calls. They kept calling from the same number, so I set up a redirect on my VOIP system that routed their calls to the FBI office in my state capitol. My logs showed they chatted for just over thee minutes!
MS didn't sue earlier because it's really hard to find a legal entity to sue. When you get one of these calls, the thing calling you is not directly attached to a land line. It's a software pbx system that may be running on a compromised machine in some part of the world. The call only gets connected to the person you talk to after you connect and the system determines you may be a real person willing to talk to someone. The calls get routed through compromised voip service providers, compromised pbx systems, or termination lines leased with false id and credit cards. By the time the provider knows what's happening, tens of thousands of calls have been made and the front end system just moves to another provider. As to "opting out" -- only legitimate telemarketing organizations bother with do not call lists. These asshats just random dial. It's cheaper.
To figure out who to sue, you have to participate in the scam long enough to have an actual transaction processed and then follow the money -- but that's not so simple now. Most of these particular kinds of scams don't accept payment at the telecenter you're talking to. They just install the ransomware on the pc. Then once you're already compromised you have to pay someone else -- through a web site, a wire payment, or some other mechanism that's much easier to hide than just a credit card transaction.
The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln
...so far is 3 hrs 49 min.
You are subscribing, thus get a bill. They do not subscribe to your carrier. They call in from a peer, often VOIP such as Magic Jack with invalid location data.
VOIP service other than consumer packaged plans permit users to set their own CID info. For example, I can enter my 800 number for call backs.
Commercial lines are different from home lines where the in and out line is one and the same.
I have a DID Direct Inward Dial number. It can't call out.
I also have several trunk lines. They can call out, but can't take a call in as they have no number. On those lines, I can place my own CID info per call, or by extension as needed or for abuse.
Ever dial 9 to get an outside line? Several hundred phones may be using 3 or 4 outgoing trunk lines. CID can be set for the hotel 800 number or each extension can provide their own CID so return calls go to your shop 800 number or cell phone.
This feature makes fake CID child's play.
The truth shall set you free!
I'm exhuming a Slashdot meme from long ago, but if you have a spare VM, fire it up and string them along to the Team Viewer/WebEx part of the call, and give 'em a full screen goatse! ;-)
... well, never mind. You don't want to know. I'll just say you cant unsee it.
For those who are fairly new around here, it was an old meme - a picture of
When you're dead, you don't know you're dead. It only affects the people around you. Same thing when you're stupid.