a fake blue screen set up by hackers
After the fake TousAntiCovid SMS which housed a dangerous malware, hackers found another way to crack down on the web. As reported by our colleagues from the site Geeko this Tuesday, April 29, 2020, new scam is targeting Windows 10 users. To sum up, this scam takes the form of a blue screen, a page that you are probably familiar with and that is supposed to appear when a technical issue causes your PC to crash.
In this precise case, the blue screen is simulated by these scammers and was created from scratch. ” Your computer has been locked. Your computer has warned us that it is infected with virus and spyware ”, can we read on this blue screen. The result is quite convincing. We find the same layout, and only what details differ with the display of an authentic blue screen.
A rather successful fake blue screen
The crooks tell you that your data is compromised, including your Facebook credentials and those of your various email services. Same story for your bank details and all of your files on your computer. Of course, this is all wrong. Hackers simply have fun scaring victims, with the threat of losing data and money.
To prevent the “worst” from happening, you are prompted to call Windows “technical support”. As you can imagine, the number provided does not refer to Microsoft support at all. No, if you call, you will run into the scammers. Here, the so called technicians will ask you to access your device to install an antivirus and other software, paying of course, to restore the situation. The goal is to extract as much money as possible from the victims.
Unsurprisingly, we advise you not to call the number in question and to restart your computer immediately. Once done, clean your web browser and take a tour of the control panel to uninstall any apps that you think are suspicious. Take the opportunity to do an antivirus scan. If you don’t have one, it might be better to go for a paid solution that will protect all your devices (computers and mobiles) like Bitdefender Total Security (currently available at 40 € instead of 80 €) or Norton 360 Deluxe (30 € instead of 95 €).
Be aware that Microsoft lists all the phone numbers of its various services. In other words, if you can’t find info about a number, it’s probably a fake. Another clue that can put the chip in your ears, a blue screen systematically displays a specific error code according to the cause of the crash and not “stop code: VIRUS” (moreover, that does not mean anything).
