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- Oct 26, 2010
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Just a heads up that an old, but clever, PC scam seems to be back in circulation.
I have just got off the phone from someone claiming to be from Microsoft and wanting to prove to me that my computer was knackered and needed updating by them.
First of all; if you're not expecting a phone call from Microsoft, it's not them. Even if you are, approach with caution.
These scammers want to prove there's something wrong with your machine by getting you to look in Event Viewer (they get you to open it by pressing WINKEY+R and typing eventvwr before hitting enter). To persuade you something is wrong they will ask you to look through the logs and point out that you have lots of yellow warning triangles and red error messages in there. This is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.
After this, to "prove" they are who they say they are they will get you to run another command in the command prompt and read out something on the list they claim is a unique security identifier that only they know because it is generated when you registered the computer. This "unique" key will be the same on mine as it is yours.
There may be a step here (depending on how you answer their questions) where they tell you that your software warranty has expired and you need to purchase a new one, but don't worry, they would never take your money off you over the phone. NEVER GIVE ANY PAYMENT DETAILS OUT.
So once you're convinced (read: duped) by them they will get you to go to a web page, most likely by using the command prompt again. DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANYTHING from any site they send you to. The site and software in question can easily be legitimate but their reasons for you downloading it are nefarious. They want to be able to access your computer and play havoc. They can do this by getting you to install some form of remote viewer.
If you've made it this far in the phone call (I encourage you to do so if you feel competent enough as a PC user because it wastes their time, the f**kers), it is time to tell them to F.O.A.D.
It's quite a convincing scam, but that's all it is. Please stay safe out there
I have just got off the phone from someone claiming to be from Microsoft and wanting to prove to me that my computer was knackered and needed updating by them.
First of all; if you're not expecting a phone call from Microsoft, it's not them. Even if you are, approach with caution.
These scammers want to prove there's something wrong with your machine by getting you to look in Event Viewer (they get you to open it by pressing WINKEY+R and typing eventvwr before hitting enter). To persuade you something is wrong they will ask you to look through the logs and point out that you have lots of yellow warning triangles and red error messages in there. This is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.
After this, to "prove" they are who they say they are they will get you to run another command in the command prompt and read out something on the list they claim is a unique security identifier that only they know because it is generated when you registered the computer. This "unique" key will be the same on mine as it is yours.
There may be a step here (depending on how you answer their questions) where they tell you that your software warranty has expired and you need to purchase a new one, but don't worry, they would never take your money off you over the phone. NEVER GIVE ANY PAYMENT DETAILS OUT.
So once you're convinced (read: duped) by them they will get you to go to a web page, most likely by using the command prompt again. DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANYTHING from any site they send you to. The site and software in question can easily be legitimate but their reasons for you downloading it are nefarious. They want to be able to access your computer and play havoc. They can do this by getting you to install some form of remote viewer.
If you've made it this far in the phone call (I encourage you to do so if you feel competent enough as a PC user because it wastes their time, the f**kers), it is time to tell them to F.O.A.D.
It's quite a convincing scam, but that's all it is. Please stay safe out there
