Users of Microsoft Windows should be aware of a popular telephone hoax, known as the "Event Viewer Scam". The scam is not new, it has been going since 2008, but it is still a popular phishing method. The telephone calls usually originate from call centres in India, which make it difficult for local police and trading standards officers to do anything about the problem. British newspaper The Guardian ran an investigation back in July 2010 about how the scam operates and published the results of their findings. The scam works in several steps according to the report:
The Householder Receives a Phone Call
The caller usually has a strong accent and claims to be calling from Microsoft or Windows Tech support. They tell the recipient of the call that they have received information from their Internet Service Provider that shows that their computer has been infected with a virus, which is causing it to run slowly.
Unsurprisingly, most people believe this claim to be true. After all, the majority of people do use Windows as their operating system and most computers do run slowly from time to time, so it is likely that most of the people receiving these random calls will think that they are genuine.
Check the Computer
The owner of the computer is then directed to turn on their machine and open the "Event viewer" program. The event viewer is a program which logs problems, most of which are trivial, and marks them with an ominous-looking ERROR message. Most computer users will have at least one error message on their event viewer listing, as even very minor errors are logged.
For someone who does not know about this program and how it works, the potentially long list of errors makes it look as if there is a serious problem with the computer. The caller will then tell the worried computer owner that they will guide them through the steps to solve the problem.
Give the Caller Access to the Computer
The caller will then direct the computer owner to a website and get them to allow them to have remote access to the computer. The scammer now has access to all of the computer files and personal information, possibly including bank and card details, belonging to the customer, but the scam does not end there.
After claiming to have fixed the problem, the caller will then demand payment by credit card, which can be over $100.
Despite the many internet articles warning about this scam, many people are still duped by it each year. Remember: Microsoft never make personal calls to solve PC problems by remote access, and deny any connection with companies claiming to offer this service.
Louise Jones - I have always enjoyed writing as a hobby, but started writing reviews online in February 2010 for Dooyoo, and later Ciao. In the beginning ...
Join the Conversation