Watch out for this scam! (Eventvwr) - Honda CRZ Forum: Honda CR-Z Hybrid Car Forums

Stealth · 01-21-2012, 06:02 PM

This morning I was rudely awakened by an early phone call. Some jerk-off with a thick Indian accent told me he was from Microsoft and that my computer had sent several error messages to them.

Knowing full well this was a scam (My number is unlisted, I never gave it to MS, and they don't initiate calls to you)

I played along and said "OMG, what can I do?!"

He said, "We can help you, but we have to act before your computer crashes."

This douche proceeds to tell me to run the following command "eventvwr" to see what types of issues might be affecting my computer. (For those who don't know, every little thing that goes wrong with your computer would be revealed by this "eventvwr" execution, and it is normal for a few things to show up here.)

I made him repeat the spelling to eventvwr multiple times while I snickered in the background. His accent made his words sound like his tongue was just stung by a bee.

My next guess is that he was going to try and sell me some BS antivirus
software when the log of all these errors popped up, have me give him remote access to my computer, or just give him personal information for he and his buddies to exploit later.

I decided to cut him off and said, "Wait, I want to see what this command does before I type it into my computer."

I googled "eventvwr" and saw that many people had been called by these scammers offering to fix what was wrong with their computer by asking people to run "eventvwr."

I asked him, "How do I verify your credentials, and determine that you are who you say you are?"

At this point, he starts pretending like he can't hear me that well, and he keeps saying "Hello, hello, sir? Did you run the command yet? Just type in eventvwr."

I said "No, that's okay, I don't think I will. Not all Americans are as stupid as you would believe us to be." I hung up before he could get another word in.

***Apparently this scam has been going on in other countries for years. Has anyone ever received these types of calls?

Scotty001 · 01-21-2012, 06:49 PM

This reminds me of something I have been thinking about for the forum..

Would you guys like an off topic thread on Network/Computer Threats and related issues? I can post those I come accross on my day job and everyone can post what they come accross and have the associated discussions..

chaos · 01-21-2012, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scotty001

This reminds me of something I have been thinking about for the forum..

Would you guys like an off topic thread on Network/Computer Threats and related issues? I can post those I come accross on my day job and everyone can post what they come accross and have the associated discussions..

I think that would be a great idea. I am a Mac user (yeah, I know, I know), but any information would be welcome!

CR-Z Canadian · 01-21-2012, 07:55 PM

Yes, please Scotty.
I'm IT/network administrator of my small company (small as in under $1B, but run by one person, and 10 people in the office), so I can use all the help I can get, on scams.

To the OP - very funny. A friend of mine took $100 as "fun money", and played with one of those Nigerian Prince emailers for a few months. Got lots of picures of suitcases of cash, and laughs from Western Union employees when he explained that this was far more fun for him than dropping it at a casino. In the end, you could say he didn't make a BFF of his African pen pal.

jcrhee12 · 01-21-2012, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chaos

I think that would be a great idea. I am a Mac user (yeah, I know, I know), but any information would be welcome!

What's with the yeah I know I know comment. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using Macs or PCs. It's just a tool. I for one use Macs and love it.

Sent from Tapatalk

chaos · 01-21-2012, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcrhee12

What's with the yeah I know I know comment. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using Macs or PCs. It's just a tool. I for one use Macs and love it.

Sent from Tapatalk

Lighten up, just goofing off.

I love them, I have 10 Apple products floating around here. I plan my budget around the next possible release of a Apple product.

ed-E · 01-21-2012, 11:02 PM

that's awesome. i have people call me like that all the time and they ask for my social security number. i always hang up before anything but next time i'll play along like you did. lol. good lookin out on the scam

varg · 01-25-2012, 06:13 AM

I think I've been too rude/evil to phone salesmen in the past. Not even scammers dare call me

twelvebeer · 01-25-2012, 11:58 AM

I love messing with scammers! I miss the old telemarketers phone calls... I would mess with them until they hung up on me!

hujo580 · 01-25-2012, 12:23 PM

We have had the same in the UK Got a call couple of months ago from an "Indian gentlemen" who said he was from an affiliate of MS and that there were a lot of errors on my computer. I played the old Luddite and managed to keep him on the phone for 20 odd minutes until he finally said that if I did so and so his colleague would take over my computer and fix the problem. I asked him where he was calling from and he said Sydney, asked him what the time was there and he couldn't tell me Indian accent got thicker and he said there were no windows in his room !! At which stage I told him to go forth and multiply

01-21-2012, 06:02 PM	#1 (permalink)
Stealth Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: CA Posts: 98	Watch out for this scam! (Eventvwr) This morning I was rudely awakened by an early phone call. Some jerk-off with a thick Indian accent told me he was from Microsoft and that my computer had sent several error messages to them. Knowing full well this was a scam (My number is unlisted, I never gave it to MS, and they don't initiate calls to you) I played along and said "OMG, what can I do?!" He said, "We can help you, but we have to act before your computer crashes." This douche proceeds to tell me to run the following command "eventvwr" to see what types of issues might be affecting my computer. (For those who don't know, every little thing that goes wrong with your computer would be revealed by this "eventvwr" execution, and it is normal for a few things to show up here.) I made him repeat the spelling to eventvwr multiple times while I snickered in the background. His accent made his words sound like his tongue was just stung by a bee. My next guess is that he was going to try and sell me some BS antivirus software when the log of all these errors popped up, have me give him remote access to my computer, or just give him personal information for he and his buddies to exploit later. I decided to cut him off and said, "Wait, I want to see what this command does before I type it into my computer." I googled "eventvwr" and saw that many people had been called by these scammers offering to fix what was wrong with their computer by asking people to run "eventvwr." I asked him, "How do I verify your credentials, and determine that you are who you say you are?" At this point, he starts pretending like he can't hear me that well, and he keeps saying "Hello, hello, sir? Did you run the command yet? Just type in eventvwr." I said "No, that's okay, I don't think I will. Not all Americans are as stupid as you would believe us to be." I hung up before he could get another word in. ***Apparently this scam has been going on in other countries for years. Has anyone ever received these types of calls?

01-21-2012, 07:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
CR-Z Canadian Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 1,333	Yes, please Scotty. I'm IT/network administrator of my small company (small as in under $1B, but run by one person, and 10 people in the office), so I can use all the help I can get, on scams. To the OP - very funny. A friend of mine took $100 as "fun money", and played with one of those Nigerian Prince emailers for a few months. Got lots of picures of suitcases of cash, and laughs from Western Union employees when he explained that this was far more fun for him than dropping it at a casino. In the end, you could say he didn't make a BFF of his African pen pal. __________________ YES, it's fast. And NO, you can't drive it!

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01-21-2012, 11:02 PM	#7 (permalink)
ed-E Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Six Flags, CA Posts: 279	that's awesome. i have people call me like that all the time and they ask for my social security number. i always hang up before anything but next time i'll play along like you did. lol. good lookin out on the scam

01-25-2012, 11:58 AM	#9 (permalink)
twelvebeer Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 36	I love messing with scammers! I miss the old telemarketers phone calls... I would mess with them until they hung up on me!