AMMYY Scam

If they somehow DO send a guy out, be sure to put him under citizen's arrest, detain him, and wait for the cops to show up.  They are probably just low-end scammers, but some of their funds could be going to Lashkar-e-Taiba [see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lashkar-e-Taiba] or other Subcontinent terrorism group.  You never know what you'll get when you start pulling on one of these loose threads.

I had the best time with these guys today!    I talked to the first guy and then the supervisor.   We played type this and I kept having issues.  *wink* *wink*.    We went to the Ammyy site and I kept questioning why I was not on a microsoft.com site.    Then I asked them questions about the Xbox.   That was a lot of fun as well.     I then asked them how much this was going to cost.   So it varies depending on what software I need "installed"... from $10 to $100.   I have a feeling that mine would be the $100 one... just guessing.   Then I explained that I would prefer if someone came out to the house to do the work.   He then explained that it cost $200.   I said that was OK.  I was happy with that.  *wink* *wink*   I asked who to expect and so I am now expecting Tim Wilson tomorrow at noon.  If you see a blue guy when you are out and about... that is me, still holding my breath waiting for the tech to come.  :-)

Moral of the story, I had a great time with these guys and I kept them from scamming someone else.  If we all would give them 15 minutes and no money... their profitability would drop and it would stop. ...plus it is a lot of fun if you have a few extra minutes to spare.  I am still laughing myself.  Enjoy!

http://www.garyalker.com/6/post/2013/07/beware-of-the-ammyy-scam.html

I received a phone call today from an Indian sounding man claiming to work for Microsoft.

The caller advised a number of security reports had been generated from my computer, and knew my name, address, and telephone number, and quoted a reference for my Windows software, although I do not know if that was correct.

He stated I had been infected with a Trojan Virus.

Straightaway I was suspicious, but went to my computer to run my security software I already have installed.

Whilst doing this, the scammer asked me to open up the event log viewer program (RUNVWR) and asked me to confirm if that showed any errors or warnings.

I checked the Viewer and sure enough I noticed some errors being reported.

I was starting to think, this is suspicious, but he knows all my information, the viewer has errors, so maybe this could be genuine. (I thought that for about 5 seconds…)

Having researched this scam on the internet, I now know that no matter what I read back to him, they will say a virus is present and that they must act immediately. They will also insist that the virus scanner is not able to detect the threat.

The caller then asked me to type RUNwww.ammyy.com, but instead I typed the name into the search engine and sure enough read that this was a scam.

I hung the phone up, but guess what the cheeky sod rang me back.

He stated, we have been cut off, so I said, ‘No, I hung up on you, I think this is a scam, so do not ring me back again’.

The Ammyy tool itself may be a legitimate tool for providing remote access to a computer, but in the hands of these guys it merely provides a backdoor into your system so they can take it over and install malicious software and/or steal valuable personal data from your computer.

I have read on the internet some of the scammers may even sell victims a fake antivirus product,  that will then further infect their computers. So now the scammers have your credit card information as well as access to your computer.

So what do you do if you have already fallen for this scam?

(Thank you to an article by Andy O’Donnell of http://netsecurity.about.com/)

1. Immediately isolate your computer and disinfect it with anti-malware software installed from a trusted source.

Pull the Ethernet cable out of the computer’s network port and shutdown the wireless connection. This will prevent further damage to your computer and ensure that the scammer can’t reconnect to the PC.

2. Contact your credit card companies and report it.

Letting your credit card companies know what happened will allow them to issue a fraud alert for your account so they can be aware that fraudulent charges may be pending on your account(s)

Remember that the Ammyy tool itself is just a gateway for the bad guys to get into your system. They could have victims install any number of other legitimate remote administration tools that would still allow them to accomplish their goal.

The key to avoiding scams like these is to remember:

1. Microsoft and other major companies are likely not going to call you to help you fix a problem in this manner.
2. Caller IDs can be easily spoofed with Voice Over IP software. Many scammers use phony caller ID information to help build their credibility. Google their phone number and look for other reports of scam reports coming from the same number.

Gary Alker

http://garyalker.brandyourself.com/