Wife got scammed by computer pop up ad to call tech support

[liv2ski]

So I was napping today and my wife got a pop up ad that her computer had a virus and to call 888-400-1925. The computer was frozen, so rather than waking me up, she called them, paid $349 and gave them access to her computer. I am certain they down loaded files from her computer which makes me really nervous. So what do I have to do? Maybe a system restore to a previous date? What else, as I don't want them hacking into our network or her computer again. Thanks

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Get a divorce.

[Yonder_River]

Ahh....women.

[smitchell333]

Post nude pics so we can decide how salvageable this situation is.





... Seriously I'd be worried that they downloaded something malicious.

[Kufo]

Call the credit card company and stop payment on the $349.

As for your computer I would say yes they probably have remote access right now.

Use the $349 you get back to take it to a tech and properly fix it.

[Mustonen]

So she'd rather pay $350 than wake you up from a catnap? You're either stupid rich, an outrageous asshole, or some kind of demigod. Either way, you apparently don't fuck around, so the only reasonable course of action (for one of your stature) is to burn the fucking place down and move to Brazil.

In all seriousness, I wouldn't really trust that workstation again without a full format and reinstall. That isn't really that big a deal, but it might take a minute.

[liv2ski]

Well, in her defense, she said she wanted to handle it rather than deal with my Mr Tech Support comments. Guess I am an asshole. So System Restore isn't enough, I should reinstall the operating system. Ok, she will be bummed about losing some stuff that doesn't get backed up.

[Mustonen]

Well, in her defense, she said she wanted to handle it rather than deal with my Mr Tech Support comments. Guess I am an asshole. So System Restore isn't enough, I should reinstall the operating system. Ok, she will be bummed about losing some stuff that doesn't get backed up.

That's just me. System restore might be just fine. I wouldn't trust any kind of antivirus software or malware removal tool, though. Too much out there these days for those kinds of things to be worth much.

[iceman]

Ask President McAfee. http://www.theguardian.com/technolog...sidential-race

[liv2ski]

^^^Cool, someone as loony as Trump

[Danno]

I'd be more worried about info they stole -- passwords, account numbers, etc.

[stfu&gbtw]

Evaluate what data might be at risk and take appropriate steps to change passwords, call cc companies, whatever is called for.

What happens after that completely depends on what that step uncovered. Feel free to pm me if you'd like to talk about it.

[t-the-east]

$350 just like that? Can I have her number / email? I got some bills to pay..

Seriously man. That's like a 60 minutes scam on an 85 year old woman. ( unless your super old, sorry )

I would say anything paid for or looked up on that computer has been compromised. You are a hell of a husband for not placing blame

[stuckathuntermtn]

Get a divorce.

This.

[RShea]

Dispute the change with the credit card company. YANK the network connection and get the system off the internet immediately. Change ALL passwords for each and EVERY account you have including online web sites that are used including all email passwords- and especially financial related immediately. Boot the computer up with a good Live CD like Kaspersky Rescue CD and scan for viruses and malicious software. Once that is done, backup any important data needed on the system (if it has not been rensomwared- encrypted already and unreadable unless you pay ransom) and collect up all your software installation CD's and downloads for any purchased software. Reformat the hard drive, reload the OS and reload the needed software. Restore the data needed and continue to monitor for any strange things or activities on any money related activities.

If you do not do all that, then there is higher risk to identity theft, further attempts could easily be carried out without knowing exactly everything they did to the computer when they connected and compromised it.

[k2skier112]

A friend got scammed like this, I called them 6-7 times a day bitching about a refund, they finally refunded his money. Malwarebytes or superantispyware found the trojan and was able to remove it. I would do a scan to identify the malware, spyware or trojan, then google it to find out if there's any guidelines to help out. Back up, back up, back up all file you care about.

You may have to reboot in safe mode it you able to do so.

Tip-when the dood says you have a "wirus", not virus...be very suspicious.

[tripice351]

[highangle]

Here's what to do when popups lock up your computer:

www.bringvictory.com

[guroo270]

Could be worse... (worth the click, and relevant to many on this site)
http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/27/45...for-child-porn
"A 21-year-old Virginia man was browsing the internet when he saw a pop-up that likely filled him with dread. "FBI warning," the message read, informing him that child pornography had been identified on his machine, and instructing him to pay a fine or face prosecution. The message was fake, of course — just ransomware, a type of malware that locks up a user's computer until they pay up.

"The message was fake, of course"

Instead of paying the scammers, the man brought his computer to the police station and asked if there were any warrants out for his arrest for child pornography. There were not, but police searched the machine and found messages and photos with underage girls. The man was charged with three counts of possession of child pornography, one count of using a communication device to solicit certain offenses involving children, and one count of indecent liberties with a minor. He is being held without bond.

This could be a case of a bumbling pedophile who turned himself in. However, ransomware has been known to plant pornographic images on victims' computers to scare them into paying, so he may be guilty of nothing more than a mortifying lack of tech savvy."

[alfajores]

That's just me. System restore might be just fine. I wouldn't trust any kind of antivirus software or malware removal tool, though. Too much out there these days for those kinds of things to be worth much.

I am going to frank and say that it may NOT be enough. The current approach by some of these scams is a full bios hack that is outside of the OS and a restore fix. I saw a case of this a couple years back that would play advertisement audio on a workstation with Chinese ads even after shutting the machine down. Take a second to process that. The only way to stop it was to pull all power supplies. I would look at a bios level and firmware reinstall. Wiping the drive and rezeroing it before reinstalling the OS. This is the perfect time to upgrade to Linux or just Windows 10.

She owes you a 10 pass of blow jobs.

[alfajores]

Dispute the change with the credit card company. YANK the network connection and get the system off the internet immediately. Change ALL passwords for each and EVERY account you have including online web sites that are used including all email passwords- and especially financial related immediately. Boot the computer up with a good Live CD like Kaspersky Rescue CD and scan for viruses and malicious software. Once that is done, backup any important data needed on the system (if it has not been rensomwared- encrypted already and unreadable unless you pay ransom) and collect up all your software installation CD's and downloads for any purchased software. Reformat the hard drive, reload the OS and reload the needed software. Restore the data needed and continue to monitor for any strange things or activities on any money related activities.

If you do not do all that, then there is higher risk to identity theft, further attempts could easily be carried out without knowing exactly everything they did to the computer when they connected and compromised it.

Good advice but many of these viruses are not detected by any scan. They are often boutique and considered individually propagated so only people would self infect. This is how most of the Apple viruses have been thus far. That said, this is good practice for periodic review and in trojan situations, but not in an actual 'trojan' where your wife brought the horse right into the city gates. Seriously, this is a worst case scenario outside of letting a hacker into the house.

[Mustonen]

I am going to frank and say that it may NOT be enough. The current approach by some of these scams is a full bios hack that is outside of the OS and a restore fix. I saw a case of this a couple years back that would play advertisement audio on a workstation with Chinese ads even after shutting the machine down. Take a second to process that. The only way to stop it was to pull all power supplies. I would look at a bios level and firmware reinstall. Wiping the drive and rezeroing it before reinstalling the OS. This is the perfect time to upgrade to Linux or just Windows 10.

She owes you a 10 pass of blow jobs.

Sure, and agreed - I'd moderate it a little though by saying that this was probably an opportunistic attack, not a targeted one. The fact that she willingly forked over $350 may highlight you as a mark for future targeted attacks, in which case you're SOL anyways. Chances are probably in l2s's favor, though, that as soon as any back door or malware goes dark they'll move on to other unsuspecting prey.

I'll reiterate, times 3, that anti-malware tools are a total false sense of security. If you want to do something meaningful, install EMET: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downl....aspx?id=41138

[liv2ski]

So I have scanned the machine for viruses and malware and it looks clean. I can see a new restore/backup date was created yesterday when the tech guy did his thing. My wife thinks I am being paranoid and that the company is legit because they have a website http://supportsurfplus.com/?q=contacts. I can feel she thinks it is dumb to wipe the machine and do a clean reinstall. I trust RShea's take, so how to convince my wife? I just don't want her machine fucking with mine on the same wireless network, as I have very sensitive data on my machine.

[Mustonen]

So I have scanned the machine for viruses and malware and it looks clean. I can see a new restore/backup date was created yesterday when the tech guy did his thing. My wife thinks I am being paranoid and that the company is legit because they have a website http://supportsurfplus.com/?q=contacts. I can feel she thinks it is dumb to wipe the machine and do a clean reinstall. I trust RShea's take, so how to convince my wife? I just don't want her machine fucking with mine on the same wireless network, as I have very sensitive data on my machine.

So get your machine off of that network. Seriously. Stat. If you actually have truly sensitive data you are obligated to protect yourself against a pivot attack. Malware scans are fucking useless.

[huckbucket]

Lemme get this straight. Your wife was clueless enough to fall for what has to be one of the most cliche'd internet scams out there, but then she has the balls to suggest how it should be fixed? Bzzztt. I'm sure you love and appreciate her input (it's her computer after all), but I suggest not taking her advice and just asking her to trust your fix.

If the cc company is able to stop the purchase, the consider taking that original $350 and throwing it toward a new comp. Should be able to get a decent one for around $500.