My first experience with the famous "Windows Helpdesk" scam

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Handsomedan

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#141217 5-Mar-2014 08:49

Had a call at 10.30pm last night from a lovely lady (assumedly based in India, judging from her heavy accent), claiming to be from Microsoft Windows support.

Apparently, despite the lateness of the hour and the fact that nobody was using a Windows device in the house, I had a critical update i had to run (with their assistance) or i would risk losing everything on my computer.

I dutifully fired up my iMac and proceeded to follow the instructions.

couldn't for the life of me find the "start" button, or what version of Windows i was using, but after telling her that I was using Mac OS, she started to get a bit annoyed with me, because i was clearly NOT, as she'd called me to help me with my Windows PC.

After a while I got fed up and told her in no uncertain terms that i was NOT using a Windows PC and that if she was able to tell if I needed a patch, she'd know exactly which version of Windows i was uaing and that in fact she'd know i'm not using it at all...I stated that if I knew where she was calling from, I'd have the police there forthwith and she rather rudely hung up...before i could even have a chance to swear at her!

How rude.

What concerns me is that there would be loads of gullible/elderly/non-tech-savvy people that would fall for this.

It's bloody awful and really makes my blood boil.

Handsome Dan Has Spoken.
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#999240 5-Mar-2014 08:54

Welcome to the club.
These scammers have cold-called me 15 times in the last 12 months (on my unlisted landline) - sometimes several times in one day - and sometimes after midnight.
I think they call numbers at random - they seem pretty disorganised.
Microsoft NEVER make cold calls.

Sideface

Klipspringer

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#999276 5-Mar-2014 10:03

couldn't for the life of me find the "start" button, or what version of Windows i was using, but after telling her that I was using Mac OS, she started to get a bit annoyed with me, because i was clearly NOT, as she'd called me to help me with my Windows PC.

Where exactly were they asking you to go?

I assume maybe control panel and then into firewall settings or something? Maybe to open remote administration?

It would be fun to have some malicious code running on windows waiting for their connection.

killerkiwinz

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#999284 5-Mar-2014 10:10

If you have the patience waste there time for as long as possible, after doing this a couple of times they no longer call.

Would be interesting to set up a blank VM and let them in to see what happens though

[edit]
They usually try and get you to install some remote controll software (some thing like team viewer)

sittingduckz

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#999286 5-Mar-2014 10:13

I feel for these poor helpdesk people having to ring every Windows user in the world to get them to run a patch... "you can't have a break until you have called everyone!" :)

I'm not a complete idiot, I still have some parts missing.

Handsomedan

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#999293 5-Mar-2014 10:27

Klipspringer:
couldn't for the life of me find the "start" button, or what version of Windows i was using, but after telling her that I was using Mac OS, she started to get a bit annoyed with me, because i was clearly NOT, as she'd called me to help me with my Windows PC.

Where exactly were they asking you to go?

I assume maybe control panel and then into firewall settings or something? Maybe to open remote administration?

It would be fun to have some malicious code running on windows waiting for their connection.

It's a shame I never got past the rather frustrating cycle of click start...no...start....OK - which version of Windows are you using? Now, Click Start...no, START....

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alasta

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#999325 5-Mar-2014 10:56

It would be interesting to know what consequences this scam may have had on those who have been sucked in. I'm assuming the perpetrators are using this as a means of obtaining credit card details and internet banking credentials, but I haven't yet heard any anecdotes of people suffering any financial loss which is surprising considering how widespread the scam seems to be.

Handsomedan

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#999327 5-Mar-2014 10:59

My reading would lead me to believe that they get you to allow access to your computer so that they can install ransom ware.

Might be wrong, but that's what I have read. And if it was written down, it was a fact, right?

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hsvhel

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#999331 5-Mar-2014 11:02

i get them regularly almost on a cycle, for a week every 3 months or so. Usually i'll hang up, but if theres not much happening i'll have a laugh and string them along. they'll get angry and swear alot about relations with my mother. Call usually ends with them angry and me laughing.

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alasta

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#999334 5-Mar-2014 11:04

Handsomedan: My reading would lead me to believe that they get you to allow access to your computer so that they can install ransom ware.

Might be wrong, but that's what I have read. And if it was written down, it was a fact, right?

That would make sense. The people who are naive enough to get sucked in by this are probably the sort of people who have no data redundancy.

I'm glad I've never been called by them. I know some people have had some fun stringing them along, but I would just get angry at the disruption and stew over it for the rest of the evening.

Handsomedan

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#999364 5-Mar-2014 11:55

hsvhel: i get them regularly almost on a cycle, for a week every 3 months or so. Usually i'll hang up, but if theres not much happening i'll have a laugh and string them along. they'll get angry and swear alot about relations with my mother. Call usually ends with them angry and me laughing.

They have relations with your mother?

Interesting. I should call my mum and ask her if they've been in touch.

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SQLGeek

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#999401 5-Mar-2014 12:54

I used to get called all the time, I managed to keep them on the line for about 20 mins once. It went something like this…

Me: Hang on, I’ll boot my PC

About 5 mins later…

Them: Are you still there?

Me: It’s still starting

5 mins later…

Me: Ok, it’s started

Them: Why does it take so long to boot up?

Me: You tell me, you’re the experts

I then spent 10 mins having fun with them, pressing the “any” key, telling them I running Windows 3.1 etc

fahrenheit

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#999403 5-Mar-2014 12:58

-"Right-click the desktop"
"Right, I've clicked the desktop and nothing happened".
-"Right-click it".
"Right, I've clicked it. Same thing".
-"Click the right button on the mouse".
"Its only got one button...."

...

qyiet

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#999415 5-Mar-2014 13:16

Read an interview with someone who followed their instructions to the letter (on a VM) they took him to event viewer and pointed at the errors/warnings there to raise the fear level, then got him to use a regular support tool for remote access (like teamveiwer) to allow control of the PC. Proceeded to disable EVERY service on the PC and demanded money to fix it..

Warning: reality may differ from above post

Klipspringer

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#999417 5-Mar-2014 13:26

fahrenheit: -"Right-click the desktop"
"Right, I've clicked the desktop and nothing happened".
-"Right-click it".
"Right, I've clicked it. Same thing".
-"Click the right button on the mouse".
"Its only got one button...."

...

Tell them you left handed or using a touch screen.

trig42

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#999434 5-Mar-2014 13:41

In my previous role, I dealt with a couple of people that took them seriously.

This was about 3 years ago now, but all they did then was get you to open the event viewer (where there are ALWAYS errors), scare you about those errors, then offer to fix them.
The fix is installing teamviewer, gaining remote access then installing freeware like CCleaner and MBAM and running it. They then charge about $150 for the privilege. AFAIK they didn't steal CC numbers (but they could have I suppose). They certainly didn't install ransomware.

The customers I had all contacted the Police and their banks and got their CCs cancelled (and the charges reversed) and new CCs issued.

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