Based on the article Phony Tech Support Scams by Blue Coat Security - phony tech support scams emerged to be a new scam trend.
Blue Coat Security, the world’s leader in enterprise security recently came across several of these sites, which at first glance, seems perfectly legitimate but on closer inspection, reveals the malicious intent of their owners.
Essentially, this type of scam campaign combines fake warning pages (hearkening back to the classic "Fake Antivirus" attacks of years past) with the more modern "Fake Tech Support" phone scam. In this way, rather than cold-calling for victims, they can induce the victims to call them -- and anyone calling in is likely to be already convinced that they do indeed have a "virus" problem.
In addition, several of these sites employed a Javascript loop to make it appear like the user’s browser was locked – adding a ransomware element to the scam. Others even incorporate the infamous blue-screen scare tactic complete with a phone number to contact "Microsoft Technicians". The site also comes with a set of pop-up warnings they cycle through.
And a key point to note, scammers are not just picking on Microsoft. Blue Coat has came across a couple of domains that appear to be targeting Macs.
Blue Coat Security, the world’s leader in enterprise security recently came across several of these sites, which at first glance, seems perfectly legitimate but on closer inspection, reveals the malicious intent of their owners.
Essentially, this type of scam campaign combines fake warning pages (hearkening back to the classic "Fake Antivirus" attacks of years past) with the more modern "Fake Tech Support" phone scam. In this way, rather than cold-calling for victims, they can induce the victims to call them -- and anyone calling in is likely to be already convinced that they do indeed have a "virus" problem.
In addition, several of these sites employed a Javascript loop to make it appear like the user’s browser was locked – adding a ransomware element to the scam. Others even incorporate the infamous blue-screen scare tactic complete with a phone number to contact "Microsoft Technicians". The site also comes with a set of pop-up warnings they cycle through.
And a key point to note, scammers are not just picking on Microsoft. Blue Coat has came across a couple of domains that appear to be targeting Macs.
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