Standard Advice in-a-nutshell:
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| Phone: | (( 🎵 )) |
| Me: | Hello? |
| Caller: | Hello, this is [inaudible] from Microsoft Support. [Simple probability: I'm a gullible Windows user (sorry, folks).] I am calling to let you know that your computer is infected with viruses, and it is causing a lot of trouble on the network. [Impressive: his accent is almost undetectable - they're well-trained of late, even to use regional dialects, y'all. If I don't immediately question what he means by "the network", then I'm probably a rube; so be it ...] |
| Me: | Ohh, that sounds terrible ... |
| Caller: | So what we need to do is that I have to connect to your computer in order to remove the viruses and correct these problems. [At this point: Were I to resist, his operations script tells him to guide me to look at my Windows Event Log - which normally shows plenty of inconsequential errors, even on a healthy system - as proof that something is very wrong. Were I to cave in, he would then guide me to open a hole in my computer's defenses so he could install malware for remote-control of my machine. If he succeeds in charging me for his "services", he also gets access to my bank account.] |
| Me: | Which one? |
| Caller: | What do you mean, "which one?" [oops] |
| Me: | Which computer? |
| Caller: | What do you mean, "which computer?" How many do you have? [I was supposed to be "pwned" (overwhelmed, confused, compliant) by now. Script failure in 10.. 9.. ] |
| Me: | Nine. |
| Caller: | It is the computer you are using now. [8.. 7.. 6.. ] |
| Me: | All of them are in use. Which one is the problem? |
| Caller: | The one that is connected to the internet. [He's lost. 5.. 4.. 3.. ] |
| Me: | The current year is 2018; they're all connected. So which one is the problem? Do you have an IP address? Network name? Computer name? Machine ID? What? [2.. 1.. ] |
| Phone: | [ × ] |
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There exists a subculture dedicated to baiting such scammers to waste as much of their time on the phone as possible - up to an hour or more, and there are Youtube videos - "all in good fun", considering that these scammers have stolen millions of dollars and wreaked untold havoc by distributing malware. But a much darker element may be at play ...
In Cambodia, Myanmar, and elsewhere, people are lured by the promise of lucrative tech jobs. Those who take the bait are captured upon arrival and then enslaved under very real threats to loved ones, or threats of torture (starvation, electroshock, broken legs) and death - sometimes just for not meeting quotas. They are housed in large compounds often built just for this purpose, and forced to work in various criminal enterprises such as fake tech support and confidence scams such as "pig butchering".
So, have a heart; your caller may have a proverbial, or quite literal, gun to his head.
Sources:
2023/12/27 A Chinese criminal network is using modern day slaves to scam thousands of Americans
2023/12/08 Cyber scam call center slavery expands beyond southeast Asia
2023/11/23 The people targeting you with cyberscams may themselves be victims of slavery