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

[liv2ski]

The reason guys lose their minds is because they try and be helpful to hear; "you and your internet buddies are all parinoid. They fixed the computer. It is working great now".

I mean who cares it was a scam and they down loaded shit off her computer??? It's all good right/sarc

[riser4]

Time for an iPad?

Time for an Etch-A -Sketch. Easy to wipe clean and start over. The original safe tablet.

[riser4]

May a thousand fleas infest their groins.

Get it right for crying out loud. It is the fleas of a thousand camels. Much worse.

[Mustonen]

Maybe I'm missing something or maybe I'm just old and untechsavvy--but it sounds like the scammers got into her computer, froze it and then blackmailed her to unfreeze it; rather than her clicking on a pop-up which then caused the problem. Which would mean that if they got into her computer once they can do it again, even if her computer is clean or even if she gets a new computer. I would think that when they find out they're not getting paid they would be eager to do it. Or are these scams done in a huge volume and the scammers assume they'll get paid by a certain number of people and not worry about the ones who don't pay.

There's something to be said for not having any sensitive personal information on a computer. Companies are starting to get more savvy about not putting ssn's, cc numbers, etc on mailed or emailed documents. Except the feds--where your ssn is on a lot of mailed document as well as the medicare card you're supposed to show to every receptionist when you go to the doctor. (Told you I was old.) I keep docs in an unlocked fire/flood proof safe. I figure a burglary is a lot less likely than a hack and a burglar a lot less likely to know what to do with data than a hacker. (Same theory in warfare--I was on a tour of a missile frigate--they still use signal flags because if ships are in visible range flags are a lot more secure than electronic communication.)

There are only so many ways to get into a workstation. One of the most prevalent (and hardest to control for) is browsing to the wrong site or clicking on the wrong popup. Even if you have a firewall turned on, it's rendered useless if you're connecting out to the bad guys.

Yes, these are typically driven by volume.

You can certainly reduce your threat surface by not using your technology to manage these aspects of your life. The reality is, unless you do something silly like pay some guy $350 to install malware on your computer, you (individual home workstations) are only worth so much to a hacker; it's just too much work for minimal chances of a minor payoff. Most credential/password/account compromises happen at an institutional level (Target, Amazon, Citibank, Sony, OPM) where thousands can be dumped and sold/leveraged at a time. Not using technology isn't going to help as much as you might think.

Think about it.... if the folk who compromised l2s's wife actually thought the l2s network was worth anything, they wouldn't have fucking advertised that they were in. They'd have hung out, quietly, in the background, and collected everything they needed over a period of weeks or months to strip them of everything they could. He wouldn't have had the faintest idea until months/years later, if ever.

[PNWbrit]

Jesus fucking Christ.

Thread is Hall of Fame worthy.

Time for an Etch-A -Sketch

^ this.

[k2skier112]

Most likely a rootkit was hiding in malware....tricky fuckers they are.

http://www.microsoft.com/security/po.../rootkits.aspx

http://www.computerweekly.com/featur...-removal-guide

[flyandski365]

Relevant: http://www.radiolab.org/story/darkode/

[mufasa5446]

1. Try to cancel the credit card transaction. They probably won't because she made the transaction.

2. Get ride of the computer.

3. Be on the lookout for future ID fraud

[iceman]

4. Profit?

[alfajores]

http://www.radiolab.org/story/darkode/


Seriously, a RadioLab about this very thing. It was playing while we were shopping in Temescal Oakland. I grabbed a link to post!