My favorite is the "We're calling from the credit card company. There isn't a problem, but we need to talk to you about lowering your rates..."
I've been able to keep them on the phone for about 30 minutes before before I slip in that I work for the FTC or something else imaginary. Click. Makes me chuckle every time! Matt On Jul 17, 2011, at 9:21 PM, Paul Ferguson wrote: > An old fraud, but apparently still going strong: > > http://www.snopes.com/fraud/telephone/microsoft.asp > > - ferg > > > On Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 6:52 AM, Drsolly <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I just got a fun phone call. >> >> It was, he said, from Microsoft. They've found a virus on my computer! >> >> "Oh no," I said. >> >> "Yes," he said. >> >> He then offered me a free thing for getting rid of it, which I gratefully >> accepted. >> >> He talked me through starting up my computer, running Internet Explorer, >> going to his web site, clicking on a link to download his software, and >> then running his software, all of which I did eagerly, while finding ways >> to get him to tell me what I ought to be seeing, so that I could tell him >> that's what I was indeed seeing. >> >> Then he asked me for the code number that came up, and that's where I >> failed. I gave him a seven digit number, as requested, and he said it was >> wrong. So I gave it again. No, it's wrong. At that point, I didn't feel >> that I could plausibly change the number, and anyway, I didn't know how to >> change it to make it right, so I gave it to him a third time. >> >> He regretfully concluded that he wasn't going to be able to help me, and >> we parted good friends. >> >> I'm guessing that the number encoded my IP address. But this seems to me >> to be an apallingly expensive way to plant a bot on spmepne's computer. >> What happened to good old-fashioned spam? >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts. >> https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec >> Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list. >> > > > > -- > "Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson > Engineering Architecture for the Internet > fergdawgster(at)gmail.com > ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/ > > _______________________________________________ > Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts. > https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec > Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list. ---------------------------------------------------- Matthew Jonkman Emergingthreats.net Emerging Threats Pro Open Information Security Foundation (OISF) Phone 866-504-2523 x110 http://www.emergingthreatspro.com http://www.openinfosecfoundation.org ---------------------------------------------------- PGP: http://www.jonkmans.com/mattjonkman.asc _______________________________________________ Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts. https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list.
