> totally unnecessary. She wasn't infected by anything. Nor do you need to do all that on a Mac. You Windows people don't really know Macs.
Hi Sword, I'm going to take small issue with one thing you said in your reply: "Nor do you need to do all that on a Mac".
There are some download/drive-by Trojans that are effective on Macs, and can leave malware on the machine, such as a keylogger. Granted, they're not actually attacking the OS, they're attacking the user. Granted, the user has to give admin permission to let them install.
And granted, this particular instance of scareware doesn't sound like it has downloaded anything onto the user's machine.
But clearly here we're talking about a fairly naive user. It's entirely possible that they have done something unwise in the past. And if so, then running a reputable Mac-specific malware scanner seems to me to be a reasonable precaution.
So I don't feel it's fair to say that "you don't need to do that on a Mac". I think there are some circumstances where it's warranted.
Please comment -- if I'm mistaken or misinformed I would want to be corrected. Thanks!
From the description, I don't think there is a likelyhood they could have gotten it on there. . . but you are right, It is possible. However, she would have had to have given the callers an administrator name and password to install anything and even then SHE would have had to have ignored pretty obvious warnings from the OS three times. I suspect all they were after was her credit card information. That is what most of these scams are after. They ask for all the information including the CCV on the back. Name, address, card number, etc. Charge the card, and then give her a pass code to their website lock on the page . . or tell her to click on an un-obtrusive location on the screen. . . she's on which solves the problem. Done. They then charge her card out the Wazoo.
They already have most of what they would be looking for with a key logger. They may have even asked her for her SSN. I wouldn't be surprised.