Regulators shut down global PC 'tech support' scam

ronjor · Oct 3, 2012

by Zack Whittaker and Shara Tibken

Regulators from five countries joined together in an operation to crack down on a series of companies orchestrating one of the most widespread Internet scams of the decade.

Scammers would use remote desktop tools to access the victim's computer.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other international regulatory authorities today said they shut down a global criminal network that bilked tens of thousands of consumers by pretending to be tech support providers.
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http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57525250-38/regulators-shut-down-global-pc-tech-support-scam/

Mman79 · Oct 3, 2012

Very nice Now we just wait for the next scam to pop up.

siljaline · Oct 5, 2012

In a similar article:

The US Federal Trade Commission has carried out a huge international crackdown on a number of "tech support" scams being run out of India which have conned people in the UK, US, Canada and elsewhere out of millions of pounds since 2008.

As explained by the Guardian in 2010, the scams used "boiler room" tactics, dialling through phone books for English-speaking countries. People who answered the phone were told the call came from Microsoft or their internet service provider, and that the person's computer was "reporting viruses". The caller would then perform an unnecessary "fix" on the computer and charge the person for it – and sometimes sign them up to multi-year "support" contracts. The cost could run to hundreds of pounds.
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Article

elapsed · Oct 5, 2012

Scoooore.

Pedro · Oct 5, 2012

A recent video has surfaced showing them in action, trying to scam one of the principals of a Canadian web start-up.
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http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/10...of-recently-shut-down-telemarketers-in-action

siljaline · Oct 5, 2012

"Hello, I'm definitely not calling from India. Can I take control of your PC?"

The Federal Trade Commission today announced a broad crackdown on scareware scammers accused of using an ancient technology—the telephone—to trick thousands of unsuspecting victims into handing over full access to their Windows PCs. By cold-calling victims and claiming to be from companies like Microsoft, Dell, and McAfee, the scammers directed users to a harmless error log on their computers and told them it was a sign of a serious infection, the FTC said. The alleged scammers went on to charge anywhere between $49 and $450 to "fix" the consumers' computers.

At a press conference announcing six lawsuits filed in US District Court in New York, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said at least 2,400 people—and probably many more—were tricked in this manner. The FTC believes such scams have cost consumers tens of millions of dollars worldwide.
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Article

siljaline · Oct 5, 2012

From ESET • FTC cracks down on tech support scams and feds nail fake AV perps

http://blog.eset.com/2012/10/03/ftc-cracks-down-on-tech-support-scams

ComputerSaysNo · Oct 6, 2012

Good riddance...

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