Wednesday I got hit by a gang of cybercriminals and I lost access to my computer. I brought my computer to an IT-specialist but yesterday he called me that couldn't do anything for me. My computer was blocked and part of my files were deleted. Although I keep my professional work on an external drive, most of my poser projects, runtimes and content were on my computer.

You can imagine how furious I was, they tried to blackmail me to pay for unlocking my computer, but I didn't give in.

I always thought that this wouldn't happen to me, but it actual did. It was so professional that I stepped in their trap with my eyes wide open.

Anyone who is called by someone who is claiming to  work for microsoft, hang up your phone, it's just an Indian gang of cybercriminals who is trying to steal your money.

best regards,

Sad Bopper.

This is a frequent scam going on in my area of Canada and various news articles have been published about it on tv. We've had people calling claiming to be from Microsoft tech support as many as three times a week for the last 2 years. I either tell them straight up we know they're a scam and hang up on them or just hang up on them. I've even considered getting an old fashioned metal whistle to blow into the receiver just to top it off before hanging up. We very aware people, this is a SCAM!

One of the many reasons I no longer answer calls from numbers I do not know, and then block the number after I refuse the call. I'm sorry this happened to you. I hope you can at least restore the applications and the content.

I must say I never heard of it although it seems to be big problem here in Holland for several years now.  I don't consider myself as a stupid person but I'm rather dupable and an easy target for this kind of scam. It are these kind of people who spoil the internet.

I don't worry about the applications and the content, It will take some time to reïnstall them. I'm more sick about the projects I've lost, I won't get that back, but on the other hand it's a new challenge to start new project.

Aw, I'm really sorry. People like this make a good argument to bring back tarring and feathering ;).

And Liz - I used to use a police whistle in the phone, but you can do one better. Get an air horn. Their ears will ring for awhile at least ;).

Laurie

I've received maybe around 3 calls from someone saying they are microsoft. First Microsoft will never call you.

Can't repeat what I called them..

About 6 months ago we had one of these calls. When I answered I was in shock that Microsoft would actually call me so while I had them on the phone I actually Googled what they were saying and that's how I learned it was a scam. Later in the day they called 3 more times and several more times after that but eventually they got the message and we haven't heard back from them.

I do hate that people like the scammers spoil the internet for others.

Tarr and feathers sounds good to me.

I'm confused. How are they able to screw with your computer over the phone? What are they saying?

I never answer the phone anyway unless I know who's callin. And even then only about half the time. lol. Leave a message and I'll call you back, if I feel like it. That's my actual voice mail. They never leave a message... 

I can imagine you are confused, but not all people are alike. it's all about character, my wife never answers the phone if she sees an number she doesn't know or if it is invisible.In my work I have to trust people and that's my character. I'm an optimist and I believe in a better world against all odds. I'm aware that there are people who will use that against me,but as my tagline says you can only learn by the mistakes you made. I always believe that from something bad comes something good and this has proven all my life.

Shane, they say they're from windows technical department, and give you instruction on what to type into the "run" bar in the start menu.  Okay, that's safe enough, and what you'll be seeing is the windows error log.  No big deal and you're safe doing so. they also say while you're there, don't click on anything, won't give a reason and say some of the entries are "infections", not viruses.  No big problem yet, but then they want you to go to a file sharing site and download the software for remote access.  Don't even think about it, that's when they take over your computer.  Once they have access, then they do anything they want to do, and not much you can do about it without turning the computer or modem off.  the price for their "fix" isn't cheap, it's in the hundreds of dollars.  They work out of India, but use names common in the countries they're trying to scam.  Also for those that have run into them already, change every password you had and cancel and get a new credit card.  If that was in your computer, it's now in their hands. 

But the big mistake is going to the remote access site and downloading the software.  Without that, they're helpless, and if you seem gullible but confused, they'll work and work to "clear your confusion".  Sometimes they threaten to call your local police, but the criminal calling police is a little unlikely.  Another is the "Registration of Windows has expired", which in the real world doesn't happen.  Doesn't matter which one it is, what they want is your credit card number.  They're just a little more criminal than the "Card Services" scammers. Needless to say, what I have for them is not something I could post here and not be banned.

Microsoft will never call you.  Period.

Doric

Hi there

Sorry hear that,but as above this is scam which has happen to several people like in US,Canada or in UK,few moths back this happen to my good friend when they ask her for remote control over her PC.At the end I've been able to recover at least most important things for her

Not sure how bad is it yours,but yuo can try download Live CD distro(Knoppix) with this you should be able to recover most of the things or if yours PC is locked or yours account is locked then I would try NTPassword,I've used this and its best and its free 

Link on this SW is here

http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

But if you will do that,I would download too,Combofix and few other Antimalware plugins SW like is AdwCleaner link is here http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/ and good old Malwarebytes Anti Malware 

If they deleted any files,you should be still able to recover them via free Recuva,i've used this too with good success

Hope this helps there

Thanks,Jura

I've had these calls before, I usually tell them to just **** off or I give the phone to "Ramesh" my good friend who just happens to know way more about computers than I do which gives me good practice honing in on my accents.

I'm sorry but I just don't understand how anyone can fall for that crap, it's just so random and out there that the second they say that they're from Microsoft it should set off a red flag in everyone's mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9uTTXA-5dE

Just one of hundreds of examples of how to deal with them, if you have the time.  I strongly applaud their efforts.  But the ones that go on with a virtual machine, let them do anything they want, then kill the virtual machine, that has to be the best.

Doric

They threaten to call the police if you don't download their crap? lol. Yeah, this is a new one for me. But like I said, I never answer the phone. They're always tryin to sell some useless crap or it's a student loan vulture lol. I will be talking to my folks about it tho, cause it sounds like something they might fall for. 

I got scammed out of about $200 in a parking lot once from some tool sellin speakers. Had I thought about it for half a second I would have realized it was a scam. Ah well. I still feel stupid about it, but the 2 or 3 times I've been confronted by these kinda jerks since then I cut them off at the pass and tell them exactly what they're up to, and that I'll be giving the cops their tag number. They take off pretty quick at that point, usually cussin me while they leave, lol. 

The ones that threaten the police are the registration scammers, I ask them if they want the local number to the station.  Once you paid Microsoft, registration never expires, even if you're running 3.1, it's still in effect. 

But for every person on the web that's even partially savvy, there are probably ten that aren't, an they prey on that.  I'm not good at keeping them on the phone, maybe ten minutes before they finally decide I'm messing with their minds.  Then they call me just about every name they know, to which, "Sprechen zie deutsch?"  (My spelling is probably as bad as my German.)  Oh, yes!  My name sometimes is Anton aus Tirol.  (My apologies to D J Otzi.) 

Doric.

What seems to have made them stop calling my number was telling them that I sold my computer to simplify my life. Haven't had a call from that type of scam in over seven months (knock on wood). A neighbor told me she told them she owned a Mac and they stopped calling.

Late last year I read a news article about "ransomware".  If your machine gets infected with this malware, all your files will get encrypted and you have to pay a ransom in order to get them decrypted.  If you don't pay the initial ransom demand via Bitcoin, the ransom goes up really high.  Someone paid as much as $10,000 to get their files back according to the news article.  Now I routinely back up my files when I am done working, just in case something like this ever happens.

What seems to have made them stop calling my number was telling them that I sold my computer to simplify my life. Haven't had a call from that type of scam in over seven months (knock on wood). A neighbor told me she told them she owned a Mac and they stopped calling.

There's always, "Oh, Microsoft...." [yell in the other direction] "Honey, it's work calling. I think they want you to come in." "Told them she owned a Mac..." Good one. Reminds me of how I used to stop door to door evangelists from coming back round. Once I told them I was Jewish (which just occurred to me on the spur of the moment because I'm not), I didn't see them any more. 

Same scam has been running here in the UK for years.  In general I never answer the phone, if it is important they can leave a voice mail and I will call them back.  The odd occasions I do answer is when I am waiting for a call so I have had a couple of these over the years.  I always thank them for their interest and tell them I am transferring them to my IT department, end of call.  My wife on the other hand does answer the phone when it rings so falls foul to this and a lot of cold calls, her tactic is to politely ask them to hold as there is someone at the door and then put the phone down next to the radio and leave it.

I am really sorry when this happens to anyone but I really do wish I had the power to make backups for people world wide.  I have personally dealt with this on many occasions and it is heart breaking.  As in this case it is not the software applications it is all the items that cannot be replaced such as photos and anything that has been created by the owner.

bopperthijs : change all ya CC and bank accounts tell them what happened and I'd get some identity protection.

I grew up in Atlanta ,herd a lot in prison .they have some very talented scammers. change at a cash register when a restaurant is busy etc etc. pick pockets
there Pro's and there very good at what they do. common people don't stand a chance.

the dudes callen ,a good mark is older people with money so warn ya parents ,or drunks Friday Saturday night.or real early sat sun morning.

and all the black mailing and etc etc is to get you not to pay attention to what there really doing. 
what there after is stealing all your money CC banks savings etc etc and identity. if ya pay a rasom it's just icing on the cake.
but that's not there main objective..

a common person over there wouldn't have funds to run a operation like this some company like there banks,the soccer balls or there gov is behind this.

nothing no CC info bank info nothing is on my PC not even my real name .

I have one certain account for online transactions .and I only put money on it when I am to buy something.

In the end locks are to keep honest people honest.

Bopperthijs Wrote:
"...but as my tagline says you can only learn by the mistakes you made."

So how's the Debian installation going on your new dedicated web computer? :-)

You have my sympathy, but seriously, no need to use the same machine for projects as you do for web surfing.  The only time I do that is if I'm not bothered about what's on the machine I'm using to surf the web.  I'm using Windows right now and I have all my software installed, but I can always reinstall that, so no loss.

@Shane
That's a mighty fine truck you have there sir, I can see you're a man with a taste for quality engineering.  I have a pair of Yamaha MS10 Studio Monitor Speakers in the back of the van if you're interested.  They're the originals and extremely sort after in this condition.  Normally I'd be asking around $1200 a pair, but seeing as it's you, let's call it $200?

Ok, you drive a hard bargain, I thought you might so I'll throw in a pair or XLR's as well.
Thankyou sir, have fun!

Rushes back to van and screeches off into the distance leaving a trail of dust and smoke behind me

... it's actually the NS10's that are sought after, not the MS10's - but there are some easy targets in car parks these days :-P

I've had a few of these calls and take the opportunity to screw with them and waste their time.  I put my headset on then continue doing whatever else I was up to while playing the fool and pretending I'm having all kinds of problems.  The last time I managed to drag him along for a good fourty minutes while I was fiddling in my garage.  When he asked what the noise was in the background I told him I was working on the motor of my vintage sports car and had been playing him all that time.  I mentioned that it was also being recorded (it wasn't) and that I'd be posting it on the net to show how pathetic he was, and that most of the world's population was much too smart to be taken in by their 'kiddee-scripts'.  He hung up quickly and I've never heard back.  Here's a group of folks playing with the 419 Nigerian scammers,  http://ebolamonkeyman.com/

 Reminds me of how I used to stop door to door evangelists from coming back round. Once I told them I was Jewish (which just occurred to me on the spur of the moment because I'm not), I didn't see them any more. 

That is surprising tho. Most of the door-to-door evangelists (other than JWs) are from churches that consider a Jewish person to be a "prize catch". Convert one of the Chosen People and you get extra brownie points with God...  I just tell them that I'm a Quaker (I am). They ask what a Quaker is, and I tell them if they've got a couple hours to spare I'll explain it. That usually sends them scurrying.

 heh... I actually got one of these calls about two months ago. His angle was that "Microsoft wanted to test a new malware removal tool on select customers". I told him that I use Malware Bytes regularly (which I do) and if that can't fix it, then I just reload the OS. No biggie. What he said next had me laughing out loud... "Sir! You can't do that! It's illegal to install your own OS. You have to use a licensed technician!" When I asked him to direct me to the legal section of Microsoft's website to clarify that, he hung up.

Some years ago I got several accusatory, lawyer-ish letters from a company claiming to be a national Autodesk reseller and affiliated to a global anti-software-piracy organization. They said they had reliable information that I was using an unlicensed Autodesk product and they demanded a list of all installed Autodesk software and full serial numbers for each. If I refused, they threatened me with a surprise on-site inspection, confiscation of hardware, compulsory purchase of a full license for the software concerned, and a hefty fine.

I couldn't figure out if this company was just trying their luck, or if it was someone pranking me by giving them my name, or mistaken identity or a scam, but the letters were getting more threatening, so I phoned the company (it was legit and so was the anti-piracy org) and spoke to the guy in charge. I told him I didn't appreciate the tone of the letters, I don't use Autodesk products and never have (and now most certainly never will), and would never send any serial numbers to a third party even if I did. He apologized for the tone of the letters, but said this was very serious, his source was dependable and they would take action. He wouldn't tell me the source or which software I was accused of using, so I told him they could go f*** themselves and face legal action if they ever harassed me again. The letters stopped and I never heard from them again.

Then last year I needed to re-install some ancient Algor finite element analysis software on a new computer and needed an updated serial number. It turns out Algor was taken over by Autodesk at about the time those letters started, so I guess that's the connection. If they'd said "Dear former Algor user, welcome, you're now an Autodesk user" they might have made a better impression, don't you think?

I'm sorry this has happened to you bopperthijs. I get these kind of calls often and just string them along for a while to waste their time. I figure while I'm doing that they are leaving someone else alone. The latest one they tried on me is to tell me that they are from Microsoft and i'm due a refund even though I have never signed up for anything.

There are a lot of uploads on Y-Tube about these scammers, just warn all your family and friends.

If you get a "Microsoft" call then remember these quick facts.

1. Microsoft will never call you about fixing your computer because they send all of their fixes through Windows Update.

2. Scams often involve high pressure tactics where they 1st. make you worry and 2nd insist that they can help you. They want to make you worry in order to shut down your logic so you don't think straight.  If they can get you focused on a fake problem then you aren't thinking about them.

1. Never trust anyone that contacts you with a solution or a problem that you didn't ask for or that you know nothing about.

Thank you for all your support and advice. I got my computer back and spent the whole weekend on downloading content and installing software. I have learned a hard lesson but the lost isn't that much after all. I still have all my foto's, my music and important software which were on an external drive as well with my professional autocad and rhino-files. I had a backup of the mayor part of my poser projects, runtimes and content on another harddisk, but I lost about one and a half year.

I have a complete clean installation on my computer which feels like a new computer and that is always fun. I treated myself on a new set of speakers and  a new backup 6TB NAS-drive, which softens the pain (and a lot of chocolate and wine of course)

best regards,

Bopper

Sorry to hear that, Bopper; That Stinx!  :(

Back up often, and keep multiple backups; I have 2 external drives I alternate using.

I use Karen's Replicator to do my backups; it's a free incremental copy utility. It's by Karen Kenworthy, a computer columnist who sadly passed away several years back, but it still works well under Windows 7...

http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp

@Shane
Can't read your post, it's blank.

    Catfish is not kosher;  kosher fish must have both fins and scales, but catfish have smooth skin (no scales).  By the same requirement, no shellfish are kosher.  Salmon and mackerel -preferably smoked!- are probably the most popular.  The sea of Galilee has considerable tilapia, and those are fished locally.

     The "both fins and scales" rule may seem arbitrary, but it eliminates most bottom-feeders and carrion eaters.  Catfish eat corpses, excrement, anything "tasty" on the riverbed.

When we used to have tropical fish (something I really miss), we used to have something called a Pleco which is related to Catfish I think.  I bought it cause I was told it'll help to keep the tank clean, and by that, yes, it ate shit of the bed of the tank.  You could take it out of the tank and hold it in your hand, felt like sandpaper!

Crap, I hope Moriador was not suggesting I'm a shiteater
At first I thought it was something to do with aphrodisiacs!

It never hurts to invest in an external drive and back up data regularly or even go for an online backup program like Mozy or Livedrive, you then have relative peace of mind as you can recover past versions etc.

I have an automated disk backup, an automated online backup (with 1.2tb of stuff backed up so far) and a manual clone of my main disk weekly on Sunday evenings.  Overkill perhaps, but I've never lost a thing.

Even using your PCs built in DVD burner (if you have one) to make copies of stuff.  I feel for the poster here, i've had those calls too but I know how to deal with them and if you are not aware of them it must be easy to be sucked in.

Best advice to everybody, backup, backup, backup...you never know...especially these days when photos, videos etc are on your computer, sometimes those memories are worth a few pounds a month in ensuring they are safe.

I always tried my best to recover data and always used to hate telling people that some of their precious memories were gone forever.  The worst for me was when I told a women that no data was recoverable from her hard drive, not even from specialist recovery.   She then told me there were photos of her child that had died a few years earlier on that drive and they were the only copies she had.  Clearly she was far more upset than me but even today I still remember how helpless I felt and how it upset me. 

Religious discussion is not allowed. 

pumeco site mail

 AmbientShade it's appreciated ya didn't lock the thread

Message received, RorrKonn.

I have had a few phone calls from people claiming to have found a fault in my computer, and I put the telephone receiver down on them.

Bopper - don't feel bad - these people spend their days scamming people and are darn good at it.
I know of a professor and nurse who've been caught by these crooks.

It's also possible that not everything is lost, as Jura rightly points out a lot of ransomware can be unlocked.

Plus as I discovered a few months back "locking you out" isn't always what it appears to be. These scammers hit a not very IT literate friend, one with a foul temper if you rush her. 1/2 way through the call the scammer told her to hurry up, so she hung up.

This meant the machine wasn't quite locked and gave me chance to explore what they'd done. Which is basically turning off/tinkering with an assortment of windows services, such as disabling system restore and running AV software, restricting admin rights etc.

Since then I've encountered other machines and it's often the same pattern. While it's pretty serious damage, it's academic as the users data is intact, not infected with anything and really that's all you need. So if you can get into the machine, back up the data, and reinstall windows.

That dude from "The Bank of Uganda" is a good one, at least that's where he claims he's from when he asks you to confirm your bank account details.
I'd be weary of him too if he calls ;-)

That dude from "The Bank of Uganda" is a good one, at least that's where he claims he's from when he asks you to confirm your bank account details.
I'd be weary of him too if he calls ;-)

You mean this guy:

Hahaha, yup, that's him, I'm sure of it :-D

When we used to have tropical fish (something I really miss), we used to have something called a Pleco which is related to Catfish I think.  I bought it cause I was told it'll help to keep the tank clean, and by that, yes, it ate s*t of the bed of the tank.  You could take it out of the tank and hold it in your hand, felt like sandpaper!

Crap, I hope Moriador was not suggesting I'm a s*eater
At first I thought it was something to do with aphrodisiacs!

Nope. Catfish. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1584016/

It means I think you might not be what you seem; for example, it means I think you might be a girl. :P

@Moriador
Well I guess it took one to know one, you're right, I'm a girl ... well ... I prefer 'woman' actually ;-)

I'm not even a Brit, I do live in England but I'm originally from Itamaracá, Brazil, and the name pumeco is the name I used to use when I sold bracelets to tourists before i moved over to England with my brother.  I've slipped-up quite a few times with my spellling and terminology, so I'm surprised I've pulled it off for so long.  I've kept it up for over ten years now and you're the first to spot it, arrrgh!

I have no idea what finally gave it away, but either way, well done (but it's a bummer all the same).  My brother helped me along with some of it, let me use his photo a few times, the guy you saw in my avatar once, the one with the hat, that's my brother.  I've almost become a guy in a 'state-of-mind' kinda way, and I tell you what, it's going to feel strange talking to the guys of the forum now that I've been sussed.  But I've had a few giggles out of it, so not too bad, especially with some of the stuff Shane has said to me in heated debates - I almost died laughing at some of the stuff he said, him not realising I'm a woman.  Same with you actually, and you always frightened me in a way, cause you're a women, an intellignet one, so only fitting you're the one who sussed it I guess.

Crap, I wonder if Clarkie and Vilters will start being even nicer to me now!
And if RorrKonn even needs a model with a fine ass (hey I'm Brazillian), all he has to do is ask (he'd have to pay the air-fare though) ;-)

On forums? Behind false names and avatars?

You are all dead meat until proven otherwise.

Well that's no way to speak to a lady, Tony, it's not like I came onto you or anything!
I assure you I'm the same pumeco I always have been, what difference does Moriador's post today, make to anything?

I've always shown you massive amounts of respect, so it would be nice if you could do the same :-)
Have a sense of humour!

It's no good, I can't do it, and the pain from my sides-splitting is getting a bit too much to handle  :-D :-D :-D
Don't worry, Tony, I was only going along with what Moriador said for a laugh ... oh man!

You can rest easy now, I'm a guy, I'm the same lovable, women-obsessed womaniser you always thought I was!
LMFAO - I swear I haven't laughed so damned hard in ages  :-D :-D :-D