We have heard stories of customers receiving calls Microsoft / Windows / Some random Support agency claiming they have detected you have problems with your computer or your computers are infect with a virus.

I personally have never received one of these calls, that was until last week To help people out in understanding how these con-men try and work their way in to your system I took some notes while stringing the friendly Indian ‘Support’ guy along.

In the below transcript my comments are in green marked as [phx] and [C2F] will be the comments of my scam caller.  The caller does spout a lot of incorrect information about the system to frighten you in to thinking he needs your help.  I will explain with comments in red as we go through what the windows functions he talks about are for and how to really ensure you have no viruses.

[C2F] Good morning Mr Phillips I am calling because we have discovered a lot of virus infections on Computers in the Hereford area.

[phx] Oh really, how can I tell if I’m one of them ?

[C2F]What computer are you using ?

[phx] Windows Xp

[C2F] Ok well there is a chance you are infected.  Can click the start button and then right click on ‘My Computer’ and press ‘Manage’.  Please Click the Event Viewer link .  Do you know what the Windows logs are?

[phx]No i have never seen them before… I lied I use the Windows event logs pretty much every time I repair a computer.

[C2F]OK well the Windows logs record information about all the viruses you have on your computer.  Actually the Windows Log store information about the computer when it boots up and when it shuts down. It also stores information about crashes and programs which report errors.

[C2F] Do You see any red exclamation marks ?

[phx] Yes a few

[C2F]More than 10 or Less than 10

[phx]More than 10 I lied again, there were no red exclamation marks.

[C2F]These are errors on your system, do you know what they mean

[phx]No

[C2F]These Red errors mean you have many online infections on your system that have affected your computer.  I had to stop myself from laughing here,  it is not uncommon to see some errors listed in the Windows Log,  Programs when they crash will log the even in the Event log etc So seeing Errors here does not mean you have an infection or Virus.

[phx] Oh No !!!

[C2F]Does it take a long time for your computer to boot up ?

[phx]Yeah I guess it does take a little longer than it should do.

[C2F]That’s all down to these online infections and your computer could crash down in a mater of days.  Some Viruses can cause the computer to boot slower but most computers  are so full of ‘junk’ and unused programs and start up items this is the reason for the slow boot and can be fixed by a clean out.

[phx]Oh so how do we get rid of them ?

[C2F]Well your pretty badly infected, lets have a look at how badly they have taken over your computer.

Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete Key.  Do you know what this does He’s constantly testing my knowledge to see how far he can push his lies.

[phx]No i’ve never seen this before I seem to be telling a lot of lies here, but its all in the name of research!!

[C2F] The is will tell us how much of your computer the virus is using.  Click on the performance tab, what percentage of CPU usage is being used?

[phx]70%

[C2F]{sharp intake of breath} Oh thats bad  70% of your computer is infected This figure actually represents how hard your computer is working.  When playing a game this figure maybe close to 100%, when you have just booted your computer this figure would be closer to 0%.

[phx]OH NO !!!

[C2F] Dont worry, we can  help you, please open your web browser and go to www.click2fixs.com.  At this point this guy wanted me to download some remote tool from his website.  I can only assume he was then going to infect my system and try stealing my passwords.

[phx]At this point i have to inform you i am an IT consultant, I know exactly what the Windows Logs do and the Task manager.  I think what you are doing here is highly illegal…

[C2F]{silence}

[phx]Do you have anything to say ?

[C2F]{Phone Goes Dead}

So a few tips to remember:

• Microsoft aren’t going to call you, unless you called them first.
• If you haven’t called anyone to help you with your computer,  don’t let any one try and convince you you have a problem
• If you think you have a problem call a company you trust to help you out.

Please pass this on to anyone who may find it useful.  Older people may find this scam convincing and be so worried they allow these con men to hack into their computers  .

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