Network Hacked

[MichaelB]

Credit card holders are not liable for credit card fraud. The Electronic Funds Transfer Act protects account holders from unauthorized transfers for 60 days. The risk here is not so much credit cards as identity theft.

Idnar7, this situation sounds unusual because this is not the way Microsoft works, and there is a well documented scam that does work this way. It might not be a bad idea to wipe your system clean and use a recovery disk to reinstall Windows and all your software. Then change all the passwords for your accounts, especially financial and mail, and freeze your credit.

One thing you can do is look at the charge on your credit card to see the name of the business. There should also be location info. That might help confirm who accessed your computer, and it should certainly confirm if it was Microsoft or not.

 

[timo2]

Yikes to everything described on this whole thread

 

[gauss]

One thing you can do is look at the charge on your credit card to see the name of the business. There should also be location info. That might help confirm who accessed your computer, and it should certainly confirm if it was Microsoft or not.

+1
If you have online access to your CC (from another computer), you might not even have to wait until the monthly CC statement prints. You could also call the 800 number on the back of the card to inquire about the recent charge.

-gauss

 

[Janet H]

This is a common and lucrative scam and for the OP it's going to be a headache to clean up. Lots of folks get duped.

Here are 2 links to help getting started cleaning up the mess:
https://www.lifewire.com/i-just-fell-for-a-pc-support-scam-now-what-2487799
https://www.lifewire.com/ive-been-hacked-now-what-2487230

but the short version is:

• Call your bank and credit card co. asap.
• Disconnect your computer from the rest of your network and know that your other devices that were attached to that network might now be compromised as well including your router.
• You'll need to change your passwords (from a clean machine on a clean network).
• Back up your data and then wipe/reinstall the operating system and then your anti-virus/security software. If this outside your comfort level, get an assist from locally.

 

[Scrapr]

OP...I was really hoping you sniffed this out as you were relating

Unplug then go change all your banking/investment house passwords yesterday. Hoping you have 2FA.

After that i would probably start with a new machine

 

[Texas Proud]

Someone left a message today on my cellphone asking me to call Apple support due to a potential hacking of my I phone. We are Android users.......

Heck, I got that call on the land line... and I was surprised that the name of the caller ID was APPLE!!!

 

[audreyh1]

A friend responded to the phone number in one of those browser pop up screens that wouldn't go away. She didn't figure out that it was a scam until after she'd given them access to her computer plus credit card info.

She called her bank and they immediately shut down her credit card and sent her a new card with new number.

 

[explanade]

Yeah if you go to some bad site, they will pop up a screen with a number to call.

Well known scam.

Today I was checking my junk folder and saw emails claiming to have broken into my Gmail account and also my device. Doesn't say which device but I'm mostly Mac and iOS.

They claimed they used well known hacking tools called RAT, which are mostly for Windows.

Maybe they can hack Mac but unless I type in my admin password for some unrecognized prompt, no way they got control of my computers.

And they can't hack iOS to install anything, again unless I have a jailbroken device and I type in an admin password to some unknown request.

Anyways, they were kind of boastful, that it would do no good to change my password and they caught me doing naughty things.

So unless I sent them $804 in bitcoins, all my contacts list would get embarrassing emails.

Told me I had 48 hours. Well that was almost 3 weeks ago but more importantly, I don't maintain contacts list on Gmail and I don't bother to keep a big contacts list anyways.

Googled a bit and it again is a common scam.

 

[RobbieB]

The only thing I didn't know about this scam was that there is over a 51% chance that a Certified Financial Planner planted the malware.

Amazing.

 

[ghsebldr]

Be on the lookout. Got a text from "ATT Customer Service" today saying my account was suspended, contact us and we can update your info. I called ATT directly instead of responding to their text and they said they have been hearing that a lot lately. Great now they are using text to scam us too.

 

[sheehs1]

Wow. I had a scam on my MacBook Pro that popped up with a window, siren type loud noise on my computer, locked it up. Rather than call the phone number in the pop up window, I called Apple Support- the real number for Apple support. They told me how to get around it within seconds. It worked and they did not have to remotely access my computer.

OP ..I hope you are ok but I would take that computer somewhere for some malware diagnostics.

1. Do a Force Quit (under the Apple Icon)
2. Press and hold "Shift". Open Safari (gets rid of tabs that grab your computer)

It was that simple.

Not sure about Windows as I became a Mac user 15 years ago after decades of being a Windows user.

 

[Sunny]

The charges on the credit card are the least of the worries. Given MBR and VBR rootkits have happened before, and given there is very little doubt your were compromised and they had full admin access to your computer, I’d ditch the computer. No way could I feel comfortable that even an erased and reformatted drive was safe after giving hackers full access.

Good practice to always call back on know numbers when dealing with any company (bank, government, Microsoft, Pizza Hut �� ).

OP could verify if the phone number is legitimate (99.9999999% it is not).

 

[SecondCor521]

My Dad fell for this scam a while ago.

What I did not see mentioned is that, at least in my Dad's case, they actually had him sign a credit card thing authorizing the charge, so I doubt a charge back would work. Although it would be worth it for the OP and others to try.

Also, they claimed to work on the PC for 5 hours and let you watch them work on it. What is probably going on is they are running a script that they kick off and it does work for 5 hours, but it's all automated. I bet the actual time investment is five minutes - long enough to get the credit card, do the charge, get the remote login info, and kick off the script.

 

[TwoByFour]

Wow. I had a scam on my MacBook Pro that popped up with a window, siren type loud noise on my computer, locked it up. Rather than call the phone number in the pop up window, I called Apple Support- the real number for Apple support. They told me how to get around it within seconds. It worked and they did not have to remotely access my computer.

OP ..I hope you are ok but I would take that computer somewhere for some malware diagnostics.

1. Do a Force Quit (under the Apple Icon)
2. Press and hold "Shift". Open Safari (gets rid of tabs that grab your computer)

It was that simple.

Not sure about Windows as I became a Mac user 15 years ago after decades of being a Windows user.

Nobody has to remotely access your computer on Windows, in fact you don't even need to call Microsoft or anyone else. That is what is a scam, getting you to call them. All you have to do is ignore it. It cannot harm you if you just close the web site that popped that up, or just hit the little "x" in the upper right corner of the pop-up windows. In fact you probably won't see it at all if you (a) use the most up-to-date version of browser and (b) install Security Essentials which is Microsoft's free antivirus.

 

[Corporateburnout]

I would tell you how to avoid that sort of thing but I have to get moving. Sheriff's deputies are on their way to my house right now to arrest me for failure to ... well, something. Gotta get out to the store and buy some gift cards to bail myself out of this mess.

I got that call from the IRS a couple of months ago and I'm still waiting for the police to arrive at my door.

 

[sheehs1]

Nobody has to remotely access your computer on Windows, in fact you don't even need to call Microsoft or anyone else. That is what is a scam, getting you to call them. All you have to do is ignore it. It cannot harm you if you just close the web site that popped that up, or just hit the little "x" in the upper right corner of the pop-up windows. In fact you probably won't see it at all if you (a) use the most up-to-date version of browser and (b) install Security Essentials which is Microsoft's free antivirus.

Interesting TwoByFour. That didn't work on my Mac. For one, there was no "X" to close out the pop up window. It wasn't just a pop up. It filled the entire screen. For two, I had already "shut down" 2 or 3 times. When I selected "do not" bring up the tabs that were open before the shut down, it still came back up and locked out anything else I could do. Hence my phone call to Apple Support. Next time, I will know what to do. Wrote it down.

 

[audreyh1]

Interesting TwoByFour. That didn't work on my Mac. For one, there was no "X" to close out the pop up window. It wasn't just a pop up. It filled the entire screen. For two, I had already "shut down" 2 or 3 times. When I selected "do not" bring up the tabs that were open before the shut down, it still came back up and locked out anything else I could do. Hence my phone call to Apple Support. Next time, I will know what to do. Wrote it down.

That is correct. Those rogue pop-up windows won't let you close them. You do sometimes have to force quit the application.

And then knowing how to relaunch Safari with no previous windows open is important.

 

[NW-Bound]

OMG! The OP got owned big time!

During the 5 hours, the scammers were busy surfing the OP's PC, looking for tax files and any kind of financial info and downloading his personal files. As others have said, he should stop using his PC immediately, and seek help.

Here's a Youtube video of a man who reversely hacked the scammer's computer, and saw the financial info the scammer had obtained from his previous victims.

Note that the Youtuber set up a virtual PC to allow his scammer to get into, and not his real computer.

 

[jim584672]

I got that call from the IRS a couple of months ago and I'm still waiting for the police to arrive at my door.

Seems like one group got arrested and a new one has come in now. People are fooled by this

 

[audreyh1]

OMG! The OP got owned big time!

During the 5 hours, the scammers were busy surfing the OP's PC, looking for tax files and any kind of financial info and downloading his personal files. As others have said, he should stop using his PC immediately, and seek help.

Exactly! That is exactly what all the "working" time was for.

Change all passwords, including email, etc.

Just never, ever give anyone remote access to your computer over the internet.

 

[sengsational]

OP, what number did you call? What does it say when you Google that number?


Vanguard called me the other day. Sounded legit because the agent hinted that I had sent in paperwork, which I did. But when she started with the security questions, I said "Let's see... you called me, so I'm not absolutely sure you are who you say. Can I call you back?". She said "Of course! I understand." and gave me the 800 number, which I googled and found on the official Vanguard site.


My voice is my password at Vanguard, but this was a division that wasn't on that yet. Anyway, my call back, after security questions got the little paperwork thing sorted.



Google is your friend!

 

[easysurfer]

We haven't heard back from the OP. Hopefully, his computer isn't totally possessed by the scammers by now .

 

[Sunny]

Seems like one group got arrested and a new one has come in now. People are fooled by this

I'd be careful about judging people who fall for scams. Yes, a lot of the scams seem so outrageous and obvious, but even the brightest among us can fall prey.

Mass scam attempts can reach people who would not normally fall for a scam but do because of a lot of reasons, including timeliness and coincidence. In the case of the IRS call, although I don't know the details, but what if somebody had just found out their employer made a mistake on one of their travel reimbursements and that night they get a call from the IRS? Maybe a bad example, but https://www.veracode.com/blog/2013/03/hacking-the-mind-how-why-social-engineering-works lists another of a CEO being compromised because they were dealing with a family member that had cancer and a cancer charity scam caught them off guard.

Yes, some scams are so bad you'd think nobody would fall for them. And some are even purposefully bad, with the thought that the scammers only want to deal with people who are on the hook for the shiny object (money from Nigeria's crown prince, etc.) and ignore all the grammar mistakes. But there are a lot of sophisticated scams as well.

Or just plain, dumb luck on the scammer's part catching somebody off guard who on any other day of their lives would have scoffed at the attempt.

 

[ERD50]

We haven't heard back from the OP. Hopefully, his computer isn't totally possessed by the scammers by now .

Well, at least he has been off-line from this forum for a while:

• Last Activity: Yesterday 06:36 PM

But that was still ~ 4 hours after I posted:

OP is still on line

Hopefully OP will report back when things get straightened out.

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

I almost fell for a scam recently. Got an email scam pretending to be from Paypal. So happened I had made some purchases recently from Paypal. But the email actually sounded "too official" which raised red flags.