Cleaning Up After a Tech-Support Scammer
If you provide IT Support to end-users, you have probably seen the aftermath of a tech-support scammer. These criminals have been preying on technically unsophisticated computer users since at least 2008, and new victims fall for these scams every day.
Quoting from the Wikipedia entry for “Technical support scam,” “A technical support scam refers to a class of telephone fraud activities, in which a scammer claims to offer a legitimate technical support service, often via cold calls to unsuspecting users. Such cold calls are mostly targeted at Microsoft Windows users, with the caller often claiming to represent a Microsoft technical support department.
“The scammer will typically attempt to get the victim to allow remote access to their computer. After remote access is gained, the scammer relies on confidence tricks typically involving utilities built into Windows and other software in order to gain the victim’s trust to pay for the supposed ‘support’ services, when the scammer actually steals the victim’s credit card account information, or to persuade the victim to login to Internet banking – claiming that a secure server is connected and that they cannot see the details – to receive a promised refund.”
By the time the victim calls or comes to you, they realize – or at least strongly suspect – that the person they allowed to connect to their computer was a criminal. Now that computer may still appear to be functioning normally, but the user doesn’t trust it. They are looking to you to clean up whatever damage the scammer left behind and restore their confidence in using their computer again.
This recorded, concise mini-course covers everything the legitimate IT support tech needs to know in order to deal effectively with the aftermath of this type of compromise. It includes step-by-step instructions to follow in order to identify and remove the various components that may have been installed or modified by the scammer.
Contrary to the belief held by many techs who are not fully informed on the subject, there is no reason to wipe and reload the system in these cases. By following the procedure outlined in this mini-course, you can restore the system to full functionality and security, usually in less than one hour. The client can once again trust their computer and resume their normal activities.
For a low, one-time fee, you receive these deliverables:
- Replay of the full presentation, with unlimited views by one individual for 60 days from purchase date
- Accompanying .pdf document, with "live" hyperlinks to download the additional documents and other resources referenced in the presentation
- Direct access to The Virus Doctor via e-mail for 30 days for help with questions and issues related to tech-support scammers
- Access to later versions of the mini-course produced within 60 days of purchase
Additionally, if you decide within 60 days of purchase to register for the full Virus Remediation Training workshop, you will receive full credit for this mini-course toward the VRT tuition.