They called my dad and coaxed him into giving access to his computer which they put a startup password on and forced him to pay $95 which he thankfully didn't do.
Going to have to restore his computer and I've made several personal ads on craigslist with their number. These [***] will pay
Since the scammer accessed the computer, they probably did one or more of the following:
• Disabled the anti-virus software
• Added a lot of malware to the computer
• Copied the Contact List (so they can email the soon-to-be ex-friends)
• Copied any financial data or passwords they could find
• Compromised the ID
• "Zombied" the computer, so it would respond to THEIR commands sent via internet
• Deleted some important files
• Asked for money to repair the damage they caused
Now, what can you do?
1. Pull the cables on the computer, so it cannot access the internet.
2. Change ALL passwords stored on the computer
3. Run FULL malware scans on the computer, in "SAFE" mode!
4. Change the passwords again, particularly if the malware scans showed anything
5. Contact bank and credit card companies
6. Sign up for credit monitoring, and check the status frequently
7. Possibly bring the computer to a local repair shop, and tell them the story.
8. Tell friends what happened, so they can be aware of strange emails from you
9. Plug in the computers only AFTER all the above have been done
10. Change the passwords on all online accounts.
Remember, honest computer companies do NOT cold-call people to tell them their computers need fixing!
You were exposed to one of these scams, and you might be susceptible to others mentioned on this site:
http://phonehelp.2truth.com/facts_rev.html
Remember to return here, to 800notes.com, after you look at any of the information at that site, either to post more information, or to let us know you avoided the scam or fixed the computer correctly.