I love youtube kitten vids, but after yesterday’s event I am hesitant to open them. My eight year old granddaughter opened a youtube video yesterday on Mrs. JimRed’s laptop and a ransomware popup froze it. They wanted $300 to unfreeze it online (she called the number on the popup, without telling me that it had happened; she believed the message really was from Microsoft).
So we took it to the tech at Staples who will charge us (a lot less) to clean it up and make it useful again.
BTW, she tells me asked where their physical location was, if she could bring it in. They gave her an address on Staten Island, about an hour away. If I didn’t know they were lying, I’d have paid them a little visit. And I’d probably be in jail about now.
< /rant >
NEVER click on anything that suddenly appears on the screen from nowhere.
My in-laws have been hit by this twice and my parents a couple of times. Unfortunately my in-laws are a bit too trusting.
This seems to be a popular scam, and I’ve listened to the instructions given by the scammer. Their script, if you don’t have the technical knowledge will really make you think that your computer is compromised.
BOTTOM LINE: Microsoft will never call you about your PC. Be careful out there, the scammers are quite aggressive. Keep them on the phone long enough, and they will reveal their very aggressive tactics.