New Microsoft statistics reveal that the Windows operating system was continuously targeted by tech-support scams in 2017. Mais precisamente, Microsoft recently relatado that it received 153,000 reports from users who were targeted by tech-support scammers via the phone or the web. These reports were up 20% em comparação com 2016, with statistics gathered from 183 países.
What is mostly concerning is that, despite being a well-known threat, 15% of the customers that filed report lost actual money, with an average sum of $200-$400 per scam. One user report, Contudo, stands out. Pelo visto, a Microsoft customer in the Netherlands had his bank account completely drained. The unfortunate individual lost $109,000 after he was approached by tech-support scammers.
The FBI received 11,000 tech-support scam complaints in 2017 sozinho
Windows is not the only operating system favored by these scammers. There are plenty of reports regarding macOS, iOS, e Android. Em cima disso, the FBI recently said it had received 11,000 complaints on tech-support shams in 2017 sozinho, adding that financial losses reached $15 milhão. Isto é 86% more than the losses reported in 2016 from victims in 80 países.
Why are tech-support scams so successful?
One reason that comes to mind is the variety of approaches and techniques scammers use to lure their victims. They often use Microsoft’s name, claiming they are representatives of the tech giant, but other big company names are also leveraged.
A new trend recently noticed by the FBI is retargeting tech-support scam victims by posing as government officials or law enforcement. Scammers are luring victims by offering them assistance in recovering lost funds.
Ano passado, Roger Anderson, da Jolly Roger Telephone Company, found a way to start a war on tech-support scammers, tornando seu propósito destruí-los inteiramente com a ajuda de bots. O desenvolvedor já é conhecido por desenvolver o bot Jolly Roget, projetado para interceptar chamadas automáticas fraudulentas, criando loops intermináveis para manter as chamadas longe das pessoas. The bot was armed with a range of pre-recorded conversations and responses.
The developer built the bots after he noticed a pop-up on his own computer. O pop-up, claro, alegou que seu computador estava infectado, and typically provided a phone number which he called. Era realmente um “Departamento Técnico da Microsoft” do outro lado da linha. O programador ligou para o número novamente de diferentes IDs e foi encaminhado para o mesmo call center. Ano passado, he claimed to have pounded the call center into the ground with his botnet calls.
Milena Dimitrova
Um escritor inspirado e gerente de conteúdo que está com SensorsTechForum desde o início do projeto. Um profissional com 10+ anos de experiência na criação de conteúdo envolvente. Focada na privacidade do usuário e desenvolvimento de malware, ela acredita fortemente em um mundo onde a segurança cibernética desempenha um papel central. Se o senso comum não faz sentido, ela vai estar lá para tomar notas. Essas notas podem mais tarde se transformar em artigos! Siga Milena @Milenyim
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