Windows Tech Support scam

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Must be the time of the year, but a lot of Indians in Delhi (or Newark) seem very interested in saving me from a "computer virus known to exist on [my] computer." The first such telephone call was coming from a live person named "George Wilson" somewhere on the planet. How many "George Wilsons" live in Bangalore, India? Well, at least one, apparently. Of course, I knew all about the "Windows Tech Support" scam and played quite stupid (while doing nothing) in my attempt to "run the command panel" to allow for George's remote access with which he would promise to "solve the virus." After about 15 minutes of silently chuckling while he got more and more hostile about my apparent inability to comply with his commands, he started screaming insults about me. I then calmly, but forcefully, made it clear to "George" that I knew all along what he was intending to do. I warned him that, if he called me again, I would report the calls to our Federal Trade Commission.

Two weeks later, I received a computerized voice mail offering to save me from yet another "virus detected on [my] computer -- JUST NOW."

If this happens to you or those you know, learn and share with them the advice to "Hang Up!" The whole offer is a scam, a hoax, a con. Don't comply.

I recently had a shocking experience while trying to make a local Ammyy Admin connection to one of my own computers. I had gone to the Ammyy Admin site and was surprised by a "Reported Web Forgery" warning, but I proceeded anyway and then received a connection request from somewhere else almost immediately after I had started Ammyy Admin on that machine. Do you happen to know anything about what might be going on there? Why is the Ammyy Admin site showing a "Reported Web Forgery" warning in Firefox, and how is someone knowing how to send a connection request to a machine on my network?

Ammyy Admin is described as a remote-desktop application. Looking at the (suspicious) download web sites that offer it freely, I imagine that it is easily manipulated to share backdoors to almost anyone who pays for it. Personally, I always avoid ANY remote access to my computer unless and until I verify the application, the business behind it and when the remote access will be terminated. Under these conditions, I have had success in avoiding remote access intrusions except the one time I was required to use it for the download of one after-market application from a very legitimate seller.

Understood, and I have the Windows remote access option disabled on all of my machines. What happened here, however, is that I had started Ammyy Admin on one local machine and then sent a local access request -- no internet connection for either machine would have been required -- and then unwittingly accepted an access request coming in from a stranger...and in the past I have often used Ammyy Admin both locally and over the internet with no problems at all. So, I am wondering whether the Ammyy Admin site and its connection servers have somehow become compromised or "turned to the dark side" or whatever.

Hmmm. Without knowing more, it would seem to me that the Ammyy Admin is vulnerable (or has easily been hacked) from anyone, including other Intranet (local) users? I mean, SOMETHING is going on considering how careful you are otherwise.

When I mention "local", I am speaking of my own local router before ever getting to the internet. However, Ammyy Admin does have some kind of Intranet "hub" setup for remote connections. To connect locally, I only use the typical 127.x.x.x address of the machine to be accessed without going through the Ammyy Admin hub, and then I use an ID generated by Ammyy Admin for accessing any machine of mine or a friend's or whatever that is not on my local network. So what happened here is that someone was somehow able to know the Ammyy Admin ID showing on my local machine...and that would indicate to me that the Ammyy Admin servers are somehow being monitored by someone trying to make nefarious connections. I think I will try to contact someone at Ammyy Admin about that.

Edit to update: I have just discovered Ammyy Admin is located in Moscow, so I am suspecting the problem is there even though the utility, itself, is possibly still not dangerous.

Yep. That would be highly suspicious. I always do "background" research on my hardware or software providers. Things like existing in an unfriendly nation or a "little too friendly" nation. Overall, strangely, I trust U.S. tech businesses better than non-U.S. tech businesses. And, that is saying something.

"I run Linux" is a good response to these types of calls even if you don't. My mother used this response one time and she thought it was hilarious when they cursed her out for "wasting [their] time."

Haha! That is a great idea.

Yes, but its even better to lead them on nd tell them that you cannot find any of the common windows programs or instructions and act puzzled when doing so. --It's best to get them to wrack their brains as you waste their time as long as possible as they try to scam you.

That is what I did. But, after 10 or 15 minutes, I could sense that the genius was ready to hang up on me. That's when I lowered the boom.

are they after your paypal account?

I had that about 2 years ago. Persistent bastards.