At 8 AM on Saturday morning I got a call from "Windows Security Department", telling me that my "computer was infected with malware" and that they were calling to help me to resolve the problem. All I had to do was to turn it on and follow their directions over the phone... It would have sounded very convincing to a housewife if not for two things: 1) her baby kept her awake since 5:30 am that morning, so she was ALREADY not in her best mood, looking for a perfect victim to let her steam out (and the cat hid himself too well to act as one) 2) she was a bit more familiar with "computers" that an average targeted housewife So, if you played along with the callers, you would learn that 1) Windows server is CONSTANTLY monitoring all Windows computers and it is receiving warning notifications from computes at potential risks (even though the callers were unable to tell the IP-address from which they were receiving such alerts) 2) Windows IT Security service can link your Windows license number with your CURRENT home phone number (never mind that the number you possibly entered at Windows screen registration was a cellphone in another country, now expired for good 4 years 3) Windows event logs marked with "error" or "warning" notes are actually indicators of VERY BAD viruses present in your computer and eating its brain for inside out (booo!!) 4) The above happening because your windows security warranty expires after one year of purchase and to renew it you have to pay for it. But, LUCKY you, if you pay a negligent amount of $299 to purchase a life-time warranty license, you will be trouble-free for YOUR life time (wow!) 5) Windows Security Dep. would NOT disclose their callback numbers, nor names and locations of their technical support personal, in case you told them that you were about to verify legitimacy of the caller. In fact at this point they get mad at you for giving them hard time and asking too many questions 6) At the end they get very frustrated with you, when you start insisting on having the only Android-based devices in your household and will hang up on you with the ultimate disappointment in their final “I see, you do not want to cooperate, ma’am” If you want to have a good laughter, watch a very similar YouTube recording, featuring the same two voices who spoke to me with the same sense of being trolled youtube/watch?v=0aJ12CiQh1M
Posted on: Thu, 08 Aug 2013 23:53:18 +0000