These guys are still at it. Just spent the last 90 minutes driving 4 different "company reps" up the wall. Been a long time since I had this much fun.
I bet there's a law against having this much fun. I wish I could have taped it. Some of it was so comical. They so carefully spelled out keyboard shortcuts, which I followed knowing they didn't work on this unit. Had me open the "run" dialog, then type "eventvwr". My system promptly responds with a "can't find" dialog. 98 doesn't have an event viewer. Several attempts and the next rep later, he had me open "run" and type "iexplore". Got the same "can't find" dialog since Internet Explorer was never installed, thanks to 98Lite. Next rep. He makes sure that I have a "my computer" icon on my desktop, which I confirm. He asks me right click on it, then asks me to select "manage". I tell him there's no such entry. He asks me to read off the options, which I do. He gives up. 3rd rep. He asks me to open my browser. I tell him it has 5 tabs open now. He asks if I'm using Google Chrome or FireFox. I say no. What browser are you using? SeaMonkey. What?? I said SeaMonkey, like the Mozilla Suite. Oh, FireFox. No, SeaMonkey. Open your browser. It's been open. Type in hxxp://w.w.w.join.me (killed link). I type it and tell him "screen says this connection is untrusted". Didn't tell him that Proxomitron threw that error. He gives me another address, which I type in. Same results. says my internet must not be working. I respond that there's over 100 connections right now. (Tor). Huh? He says he's transferring me to his supervisor. 4th rep. This one sent me to a normal http page ammyy.com. Points out the green box for the download link. I trust my setup so I clicked it. Downloaded ammyy admin version 3 (AA_v3.exe) which I saved to the desktop. Click on it. It says "access denied" What's on your desktop? Same as before. Has me download it again and click on it. Same thing, Access Denied. Didn't tell him that SSM was blocking it. He sends me to the download page and points out version 3.5. Has me download it, then asks me to run it. I tell him it says "access denied". How old is your computer he asks? I tell him it was built about 4 years ago, which was when I assembled the parts. he asks me if I'm using Windows. I say yes. Are you using Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 or XP? No. What are you using? Windows 98. WHAT?? Why are you using Windows 98? Because I don't like XP and the newer versions. Our software won't run on your copy of Windows. It's too old. Let me connect you to our technical department. Fast busy signal.
@ noone_particular Very funny ! Just wondering what they would do if someone said they were on BEOS or ReactOS Etc ? LOL
Haha nice story, I love his reaction when he heard you use Win98. Maybe they should start asking "what OS do you use?" as the very first question and not the last. It would save them a lot of time.
Never You have to be careful playing along, especially if you let them on your system. Some people who have received these calls and were aware it was a scam but wanted to have some fun, ended up getting burned big time. As soon as they realize that you are giving them the runaround they get nasty and start uninstalling your drivers and personal files. This happened to a guy at MBAM. Even when these guys get caught, charged and convicted they get suspended sentences. They squirrel all their ill gotten gains in offshore bank accounts and never pay the fines either. The call centres get closed down by the authorities and start up somewhere else within a week. http://www.theguardian.com/technolo...gleader-gets-suspended-jail-sentence-and-fine
You are not alone. I too was tricked into installing the AMMYY scamware,but they went a step further and tricked me into installing logmein123. Old fogies are not the only targets. Young people like myself (im 35 btw) who know little about computers and or are easily duped are also targeted! Beware of theese cyberconmen and don't let them hijack your computer like i did! And dont download AMMYY or logmein123! It's a trap!
Actually, those are legitimate software misused by criminals. As long as you have someone trustworthy using it to control your computer, there shouldn't be a problem.
That's why you create a makeshift honeypot with an extra machine. I wish so badly one of these people would call me. I would have so much fun with them. I looked up some videos on Youtube of people having fun with these shiesters, and some of them are hilarious! The one guy looked & acted like a young Mike Myers.