Did he identify himself as “Peggy”?
Hey, is your refrigerator running?
Not sure I would admit this publicly.-)
We had this a few months ago. They said they were from Microsoft and that my computer had a virus. He wanted me to give him remote access to fix the problem - I told him I won’t give my mother remote access and that he could copulate in another place - if you get my meaning.
Mel
Phishing
Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
Spear phishing
Phishing attempts directed at specific individuals or companies have been termed spearphishing.[35] Attackers may gather personal information about their target to increase their probability of success.
Clone phishing
A type of phishing attack whereby a legitimate, and previously delivered, email containing an attachment or link has had its content and recipient address(es) taken and used to create an almost identical or cloned email. The attachment or Link within the email is replaced with a malicious version and then sent from an email address spoofed to appear to come from the original sender. It may claim to be a resend of the original or an updated version to the original.
This technique could be used to pivot (indirectly) from a previously infected machine and gain a foothold on another machine, by exploiting the social trust associated with the inferred connection due to both parties receiving the original email.
Whaling
Several recent phishing attacks have been directed specifically at senior executives and other high profile targets within businesses, and the term whaling has been coined for these kinds of attacks.
(I thought whaling was when you go to the bar...)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing
What is spear phishing?
Spear phishing is an e-mail spoofing fraud attempt that targets a specific organization, seeking unauthorized access to confidential data. Spear phishing attempts are not typically initiated by “random hackers” but are more likely to be conducted by perpetrators out for financial gain, trade secrets or military information.
As with the e-mail messages used in regular phishing expeditions, spear phishing messages appear to come from a trusted source. Phishing messages usually appear to come from a large and well-known company or Web site with a broad membership base, such as eBay or PayPal. In the case of spear phishing, however, the apparent source of the e-mail is likely to be an individual within the recipient’s own company and generally someone in a position of authority.
Visiting West Point teacher and National Security Agency expert Aaron Ferguson calls it the “colonel effect.” To illustrate his point, Ferguson sent out a message to 500 cadets asking them to click a link to verify grades. Ferguson’s message appeared to come from a Colonel Robert Melville of West Point. Over 80% of recipients clicked the link in the message. In response, they received a notification that they’d been duped and warning that their behavior could have resulted in downloads of spyware, Trojan horse s and/or other malware.
Most people have learned to be suspicious of unexpected requests for confidential information and will not divulge personal data in response to e-mail messages or click on links in messages unless they are positive about the source. The success of spear phishing depends upon three things: The apparent source must appear to be a known and trusted individual, there is information within the message that supports its validity, and the request the individual makes seems to have a logical basis.
Here’s one version of a spear phishing attack: The perpetrator finds a web page for their target organization that supplies contact information for the company. Using available details to make the message seem authentic, the perpetrator drafts an e-mail to an employee on the contact page that appears to come from an individual who might reasonably request confidential information, such as a network administrator. The email asks the employee to log into a bogus page that requests the employee’s user name and password or click on a link that will download spyware or other malicious programming. If a single employee falls for the spear phisher’s ploy, the attacker can masquerade as that individual and use social engineering techniques to gain further access to sensitive data.
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/spear-phishing
"You don't even have a laptop?" Stifling my laughter, "What is that?"
see this teamviewer thing popping up on the computer at work the same one the IT kid uses to fix the network and ima wondering why bitorrent is there too
You could have chose a couple of other paths.
One would be to say that you don’t own a computer. Then ask how it was possible that this problem existed.
Or...
You could say, “I’m typed in the website address but my computer won’t connect for some reason. Maybe you guys have a virus!”
Time for LightBeam technology!
Mozilla’s Lightbeam tool will expose who is looking over your shoulder on the web
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/mozillas-lightbeam-tool-will-expose-who-is-looking-over-your-shoulder-on-the-web-8902269.html
LOWBRIDGE RULES!