TDS

Consumer Alert: new phishing scam uses fake virus warnings

Concept of hacking or phishing with malware programOur Remote PC Support team is getting reports of a new kind of malware making the rounds on the Internet you need to know about:

What the scam looks like
While surfing on the Internet, customers are seeing pop-up windows, or in some cases, entire browser windows with an urgent (and legitimate-looking) virus warning. The warning tells the customer their computer is infected with a virus and that they should call an 800 number for help. DO NOT CALL the number. The message is a phishing scam designed to get users to call and provide credit card information. In fact, the warning is actually the result of the website (or an advertiser network used on the website) being infected by a malicious virus.

What victims have been told
Customers who have called the number were told their computer needed a virus cleaning which would cost several hundred dollars—which could be paid for by providing credit card information. The support team has also been told these scammers sometimes claim they are agents with the customer’s phone or Internet company (in this case, TDS!). These people DO NOT work for TDS. TDS will never ask you to provide any personal or payment information for a request you did not initiate.

How to fix it
Closing your browser and reopening it should remove the warnings, but also check to make sure your anti-virus software is running and up to date. If you ever have a question about whether a warning, phone call, or email is legitimate, call 1-888-CALL-TDS or chat with us.

 

About Guest Blogger

Guest blogger for TDS Home.

6 Responses to Consumer Alert: new phishing scam uses fake virus warnings

  1. Jody September 23, 2014 at 2:39 pm #

    I fell for it (but didn’t call the number). It also left me with repeated pop-up ads, especially when I went to banking or credit card sites. I got rid of it by uninstalling it in my control panel/programs.

  2. Raymond Laitinen September 23, 2014 at 4:37 pm #

    I say to catch the Bastards, and then take them into the street and shoot Em……Enough is enough. Why can’t these assholes make an honest living????

    • EatMeScammerA-Holes April 22, 2015 at 4:42 pm #

      I concur.

  3. Patti A. McBride September 23, 2014 at 6:54 pm #

    Because they like to play the psychobabble head game with unsuspecting people by putting the fear of the computer gods in them. Their attitude is probably, Why work when I can psychologically scare them & get easy $$$? It’s a sick world out there & it’s buyer beware. Thank you TDS for the information. An informed customer.
    🙂

  4. Jack April 2, 2015 at 6:12 pm #

    I think it’s funny how TDS is talking about anti scammers, when they themselves are scammers.

  5. EatMeScammerA-Holes April 22, 2015 at 4:23 pm #

    I like to call the number back and fuck with them–I ask how they sleep at night, knowing that they make a living screwing old people out of their life savings. I use obscenities a lot and they say, “M’am, you’re being recorded. Please watch your language…” To which I tell them I don’t give a fuck if they’re recording me, because they’re the ones committing a crime, not me. I also call sometimes and speak jibberish for a while—I figure the more time you fuck with them, the less time they have to spend on a call trying to steal money from the elderly. Sometimes I just call and repeatedly play that red “BOOOOM!” button from the movie “Inception” http://inception.davepedu.com/ Better yet—tie up their time if you’re bored and have half an hour to kill. Call them and keep them on the line by pretending that you don’t understand their instructions, or tell them that what they’re telling you to do isn’t working. You can keep them on indefinitely if you really want to. I also tell them I’m reporting them to the FBI or something else, and they usually hang up at that point. They called me back just now, and I kept them on the line for 5 minutes speaking a foreign/non-existent made-up language til someone else whispered to this bitch, “It’s that lady again”–at which point they hung up. ROFLMFAO!!!!!!!!

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