Network Hacked

[bw5972]

Scam for sure.

 

[NW-Bound]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

I would not use the affected PC to change passwords on e-mails, bank accounts, etc...

The scammers could have planted a keystroke logger, and capture all the new password changes.

Basically, they can remotely monitor and see what the victim types on his computer, account login, password changes and all.

 

[CaptTom]

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

Hopefully, he's unplugged the computer and brought it to a reputable repair shop. I do hope he lets us know how it went.

 

[GravitySucks]

So did this really happen, or is OP sending out scary Halloween stories?

 

[NW-Bound]

So did this really happen, or is OK sending out scary Halloween stories?

Maybe the OP pulls our leg, and did not fall for any scam.

But the scenario actually happens to tens of thousands of people, so this thread is good to bring the scamming threat to readers' attention.

 

[ocean view]

I sent a link to this thread to my mom (85) and told her to read through it and be aware. I could totally see her being vulnerable to a scam like this. Fortunately she replied that she’s learned to ignore those pop ups and fake phone calls from social security.

 

[Dash man]

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.

Care to share the process they told you?

 

[audreyh1]

I would not use the affected PC to change passwords on e-mails, bank accounts, etc...

The scammers could have planted a keystroke logger, and capture all the new password changes.

Basically, they can remotely monitor and see what the victim types on his computer, account login, password changes and all.

Oh - this is very true! You need to use another device that you are sure is not compromised. I was hoping the OP was keeping their affected computer offline.

 

[TwoByFour]

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.

I have not seen one of these in years so I am going off memory here, but my recollection is that I closed either the pop-up or the tab in Chrome that it came from and it went away. My point was that you don't need Microsoft technical support to get rid of it.

If you're really worried, hit the power button (on a PC, no idea what to do on a Mac) hold it down until the computer just shuts off.

In either case of how you get rid of the pop-up, you need to run a virus scan.

 

[Hermit]

You were probably the victim of a CFP's side hustle. Those people are crooks.

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.

I know CFPs are not popular on this site, but accusing the entire industry of being crooks without even a word on why this might be so is really over the top. I suppose you folks "heard it on the web, so it must be true".

BTW, I don't use or even know a CFP and I doubt I ever will use one other than at Vanguard. I am hoping they don't fall under the category of crooks.

 

[Dash man]

With five hours access to the PC, I wouldn’t trust the PC anymore. They may have accessed the BIOS firmware, granting themselves administrative access to the PC. Time for a new one.

 

[RunningBum]

I know CFPs are not popular on this site, but accusing the entire industry of being crooks without even a word on why this might be so is really over the top. I suppose you folks "heard it on the web, so it must be true".

BTW, I don't use or even know a CFP and I doubt I ever will use one other than at Vanguard. I am hoping they don't fall under the category of crooks.

I don't know about Rustward, but I do know that Robbie uses a CFP and is very satisfied, so I'm sure this was tongue-in-check. Doesn't everyone realize how easy sarcasm is to detect in posts? (that's sarcasm, btw)

 

[Sunny]

So did this really happen, or is OP sending out scary Halloween stories?

I'd guess it did really happen, however what a great idea. October is actually national cybersecurity month, and relating falling for a malware attack but not being aware you were doing so would be a great way to drum up awareness inside of a corporate intranet. Or a public forum.

 

[RunningBum]

I'd guess it did really happen, however what a great idea. October is actually national cybersecurity month, and relating falling for a malware attack but not being aware you were doing so would be a great way to drum up awareness inside of a corporate intranet. Or a public forum.

Except the OP wasn't relating falling for this. Reread that first post. They were saying how lucky they were they got actual help, when it's pretty clear they were victimized. If anything, this was the worst possible message to send, that calling a number on a popup and giving your credit card and letting them access your computer all works out OK.

 

[Sunny]

Except the OP wasn't relating falling for this. Reread that first post. They were saying how lucky they were they got actual help, when it's pretty clear they were victimized. If anything, this was the worst possible message to send, that calling a number on a popup and giving your credit card and letting them access your computer all works out OK.

What I was saying was it could be a good idea to tell a story where you describe an event taking place where normal people have to come to your aid and let you know that you were actually the victim of fraud. This has the potential to raise awareness for everyone.

You are correct that the story would have to not be something that could backfire (communicating it is OK to call the pop-up number), but somebody unwittingly relating falling for a malware attack, gaining empathy, causing discussion around the incident, etc. would go a lot further to raise awareness than just posting a warning about falling for phishing attempts.

 

[Rustward]

I know CFPs are not popular on this site, but accusing the entire industry of being crooks without even a word on why this might be so is really over the top. I suppose you folks "heard it on the web, so it must be true".

BTW, I don't use or even know a CFP and I doubt I ever will use one other than at Vanguard. I am hoping they don't fall under the category of crooks.

In case you were not quick enough to pick up on it, my comment was sarcasm.

This group is just so easily spooked!

And I do use a CFP and have a 1.7% WR which will go way down when we start SS.

 

[Texas Proud]

So did this really happen, or is OP sending out scary Halloween stories?

I do know that someone from the gym did do as the OP did except to buy anything... she finally figured out that it was a scam... so not Halloween stories...

 

[Idnar7]

OP here sorry I am late getting back to you all. I took my laptop in first thing this morning to Geek Squad at Best Buy. They still have my laptop and I am using my old one for this. They didn't ask for a credit card they asked for check information. Their transaction hadn't gone through so I closed my checking account. I also changed password from my wife's phone. I am so glad I checked this thread last night at 6:30. The overwhelming responses that this was a scam
hit home and got me going to hopefully resolve. I admit I am not computer savvy and refer to myself as a technophobe, even though I worked in IT (managed a development group). I really appreciate everyone's quick responses and concern. That is why I came here. Will follow up when I get my laptop back. Thanks again for all the great feedback. I trust this group to provide the truth.

 

[MichaelB]

Idnar7, thanks for the update, and relieved to see the actions you took. If you haven't done so already, don't forget to do a credit freeze with all 3 agencies.

 

[Janet H]

OP here sorry I am late getting back to you all. I took my laptop in first thing this morning to Geek Squad at Best Buy. They still have my laptop and I am using my old one for this. They didn't ask for a credit card they asked for check information. Their transaction hadn't gone through so I closed my checking account. I also changed password from my wife's phone. I am so glad I checked this thread last night at 6:30. The overwhelming responses that this was a scam
hit home and got me going to hopefully resolve. I admit I am not computer savvy and refer to myself as a technophobe, even though I worked in IT (managed a development group). I really appreciate everyone's quick responses and concern. That is why I came here. Will follow up when I get my laptop back. Thanks again for all the great feedback. I trust this group to provide the truth.

I'm sorry you have to deal with this mess but hopefully your experience can help someone else to avoid the same fate.

If you had any access info to any accounts including retirement, stock accounts, bill pay or similar stored on that machine (or others in the same network) be sure to change up the access and set up alerts.

Hang in there.

 

[CaptTom]

Thanks for letting us know. Hopefully others will learn from your experience. It's so easy to let your guard down, and it only takes one time.

 

[Rustward]

OP, I suggest that if you have any financially-related online accounts that you check each item in your profile, especially contact information like address, email address, and phone numbers. Obviously, change your passwords, and perhaps go one step further and change your username if they will let you do that.

 

[iloveyoga]

OP here sorry I am late getting back to you all. I took my laptop in first thing this morning to Geek Squad at Best Buy. They still have my laptop and I am using my old one for this. They didn't ask for a credit card they asked for check information. Their transaction hadn't gone through so I closed my checking account. I also changed password from my wife's phone. I am so glad I checked this thread last night at 6:30. The overwhelming responses that this was a scam
hit home and got me going to hopefully resolve. I admit I am not computer savvy and refer to myself as a technophobe, even though I worked in IT (managed a development group). I really appreciate everyone's quick responses and concern. That is why I came here. Will follow up when I get my laptop back. Thanks again for all the great feedback. I trust this group to provide the truth.

Thank you for sharing your story here.

 

[audreyh1]

Wow! OK first I heard of computer scammers trying to get bank routing information for access to a checking account on calling in. Glad you were able to close your checking account in time. Whew!

So glad you posted and got quick feedback.

 

[CaptTom]

It's interesting that they didn't manage to drain the account immediately. Maybe it takes a while, or maybe they sell the account information to other crooks for future use.

This has really made me think about what I'd do if someone got access to a computer of ours. Think of all the possible vectors of attack! We take so many things for granted, like our e-mail accounts being used to verify account changes at banks and financial institutions. All someone needs is access to the account and knowledge of which institutions to go after.