Microsoft and Amazon have teamed up to take down a network of criminals specializing in tech support scams, with scammers tricking victims into believing their PCs were infected with malware. A first effective association!
This may have happened to you before: while browsing the Internet, a page opens in your browser, displaying a series of graphic codes designed to scare you. Invasive messages and unreassuring warning signs appear in bold letters, claiming that your computer has been blocked due to virus detection or suspicious activity. This page may even include the name of your web browser, your IP address and the name of your Internet service provider. To make the situation worse, pop-ups appear as Windows Defender alerts, signaling a critical or major risk to the security of your PC or your personal data. Of course, you can’t close them!
To get out of this situation, the web page tells you what to do with, in particular, a telephone number to call, adorned with the logo (of Windows, Amazon, Apple, Google or any other official technical support), supposed to put you in contact with a technician who can help you. As you can imagine, this is all a hoax. Your PC is neither infected by a virus nor blocked. The phone number will put you in contact with a fake technician, in order not only to sell you protection software at exorbitant prices, but also to take control of your computer to install real malware or spyware (spyware) on your device. without your knowledge, mainly with the aim of extracting money from you. A sophisticated scam that has been going on for many years…
Tech support scam: Scammers impersonate Amazon and Microsoft
To fight against this scourge, an unlikely alliance has emerged between Amazon, Microsoft and the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in order to dismantle large organized groups in India involved in cases of financial cyber fraud, including a cryptocurrency scam. worth 100 million euros. This is the first time that the two tech giants have joined forces to fight against this type of practice, given that cybercriminals pretended to be them on the phone. Indeed, the CBI describes several cases where scammers posed as customer support agents of two “well-known multinationals” (Amazon and Microsoft therefore) through pop-up windows which “falsely appeared to be security alerts” from these companies.
CBI LAUNCHES OPERATION CHAKRA-II TO COMBAT AND DISMANTLE ORGANIZED CYBER ENABLED FINANCIAL CRIMES;
DURING NATIONWIDE CRACKDOWN, SEARCHES CONDUCTED AT AROUND 76 LOCATIONS; LARGE NUMBER OF DIGITAL GADGETS INCLUDING LAPTOPs, HARD DISC ETC RECOVERED pic.twitter.com/0Jx1DdQ2o9— Central Bureau of Investigation (India) (@CBIHeadquarters) October 19, 2023
As part of this operation, called Operation Chakra-2, the CBI explains having “conducting intensive investigations into 5 separate cases in 76 locations across several regions.” In total, “32 mobile phones, 48 laptops/hard drives, 2 server backups, 33 SIM cards and USB sticks were confiscated, and many bank accounts frozen. The CBI also seized a set of 15 email accounts , highlighting the complex web of deception woven by the defendants.”
“Illegal call centers have impacted more than 2,000 Amazon and Microsoft customers primarily in the United States, but also in Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.explains Amazon in a blog post. “This collaboration marks the first time Microsoft and Amazon have joined forces to combat technical support fraud”writes Amy Hogan-Burney, spokesperson for the Redmond firm, in another blog post. “We firmly believe that partnerships like this are not only necessary but essential to creating a safer online ecosystem and extending our protection to more individuals”. If you ever come across this type of scam, don’t hesitate to consult our practical sheet to get rid of it!