GET EASY TECH

I get dozens of SPAM emails a day, many of which try to persuade me to click on a malicious link.

But I have never known the bad guys to use the telephone to distribute malware – until now.

Yes, the bad guys called me on the phone. They told me their servers identified my PC as one spewing out SPAM. I knew it had to be a scam, but decided to play along just to learn how their evil scheme unfolded.

They said they were from “Get Easy Tech” a “Service Provider for Windows.” I figured they would probably claim to be associated with Microsoft, and when I asked them who had contracted with them to provide the service, they confirmed that suspicion.

I told them the situation sounded pretty serious, and asked them for a phone number I could use to call them back in the event we became disconnected. (My callerID indicated their number was 9-1777, which is obviously bogus.) They told me their number was (206) 462-5444. Interestingly, I was able to Google that phone number and read of others’ similar experiences.

To demonstrate to me that my computer was infected with a virus, they instructed me to type ‘R’ while holding down the Windows key (this issues the Windows Run command). They then had me type in ‘eventvwr’ which runs the Windows Event viewer. They then had me look at the Application Log. I acted very surprised by what I was seeing, even though I am quite familiar with Windows Logs. They then informed me that the errors and warnings in that log (every PC has some) were indications of the “malicious programs” which were causing the SPAM they had detected. Wrong! But I played along…

They then had me type ‘Win-R’ again, but this time enter ‘www.[purposelyNOTdisclosed].com.’ I figured this was likely a malicious website, so I did not do what they were instructing me to do! Instead, I Google’d that website. And found links to others’ accounts of what happened to them when they were hit by the same scam.

At that point, I hung up mid-sentence as though we got disconnected. Further checking indicated the website they were sending me to was actually a legit website which offers remote control software for legitimate computer support work. I have no doubt that had I continued, they would have taken remote control of my PC and installed malware, and then mined my files for personal information.

Believe it or not, they called me back noting we had gotten disconnected! That tells me this group is willing to go to great lengths to pull off their scam. At that point, I had enough amusement for one day. So I told them I knew they were liars and criminals and hung up on them again. So far, they’ve not called back.

But my phone did ring again. This time it was a neighbor calling to inform me he had just gotten a phone call from ‘Get Easy Tech’!! He too recognized it to be a scam and promptly told them so and hung up.

Others posting information on this scam indicate they will attempt to sell you anti-virus software and a service contract to support Windows. In which case they get your credit card number in addition to infecting your PC with malware. So beware. Note that Microsoft never calls Windows users. And by now, people hopefully realize to never reveal personal information or credit card numbers during an unsolicited interaction.

In case you are wondering, I did call the phone company and suggested they try to trace the call. I also called my ISP to alert their tech support that the scam was currently active in this area.