Computer Virus Phone Scams
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 6:46PM Here are the take away points from this post, they are too important to get buried in this lengthy story:
- Microsoft or another tech company will never call you to say your computer is broken/infected let us help you fix it
- Don't bother interacting with these people just hang up
- Contact your local law enforcement officials or Phone Busters (Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre)
- If you let them into your computer, contact a computer professional as soon as possible
- If you paid them anything contact your credit card company and let them know
A Typical Scam Attempt Simplified
Step 1: A phone call will come in and the person on the other end of the line will claim to be from Microsoft or some other tech company. They will say that they have detected that your computer is infected, full of errors or give you a similar line.
Step 2: They will then try to show you proof of this by having you open up different programs in Windows that have information about internal processes and logging. These logs can easily be misinterpreted and misleading.
Step 3: They will then attempt to get you to give them access to your PC by using some sort of remote software and/or to get a credit card number out of you to "fix" the problems.
Step 4: They will steal personal information, login credentials and possibly leave a backdoor if they don't destroy your computer when they are done.
The Story
Last week we had a conversation with a reporter from the Wasaga Sun about the rise in the number of computer phone scams that we have been seeing. These scams have been going on for a number of years but as of late we have seen a sharp increase in the number of customers either calling or coming in to talk about this issue. Most have been fortunate enough to not to allow the scammers access to their computers but a few unfortunate souls have been tricked.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre put together a press release on September 29, 2011 explaining this type of scam; see the references below for a link to the PDF. On their home page this is one of the scams of the week and to quote them; "The virus scam has grown to epidemic proportions in Canada, now accounting for between 70 and 80 per cent of frauds reported daily to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC)." We have also had a chance to talk with Huronia West OPP about what to do should you receive a call, Constable Mark Kinney recommended that you either call your local law enforcement officials or Phone Busters (Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre). The OPPs press release is also linked at the bottom of this post.
If you are one of the unfortunate few to have taken in by this scam and you've allowed them in to your computer it is imperative that you talk to a computer professional about this situation. The scammer may have stolen personal information and some steps need to be taken. They may have also left behind a backdoor to get into your computer. If you gave them a credit card please contact your credit card company and let them know what has happened. They will have recommendations and procedures in place.
Our store policy in the event that a computer is compromised in this nature, is to recommend a format/reinstall of the operating system. To be clear we aren't talking about malicious software or a virus. We're talking about the steps that should be taken once an unknown party has been allowed remote access to the computer. If a customer does not want to format the computer we can attempt a virus/malware clean out in the hopes that we can catch any tools/backdoors left behind. These two procedures are the same cost on our rate table so ultimately the choice lies with the customer. We choose to err on the side of caution in our recommendation because our customer’s safety and security is extremely important to us.
We take time with the customer prior to doing any work to assess if the computer was accessed or not, we have had a number of instances where people thought they may have been compromised but didn't actually go through the entire process and were safe because of it.
The final step we take happens after your computer leaves the door. During the assessment phase we try to figure out what method was used to gain remote access, most of the time the tools used are from legitimate companies like TeamViewer or LogMeInRescue. We then take the information we gather and if possible notify the company that makes the tool, to hopefully get the account that was used banned.
Stay safe and never let anyone you don't personally know and trust into your computer.
References
Wasaga Sun Article - February 22, 2012
OPP Press Release - February 2, 2012
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre Press Release - September 29, 2011
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