Possible Trojan... Possible scam?

[Drakthorn9935]

Hey guys,

 

Okay, so here recently my neighbor came up to me saying she's been having some computer issues and she'd like me to help check it out. It's not the first time I've had to work on her stuff, and I figured it'd be something simple like Chrome's homepage switched itself to a different website, or maybe something like her extra programs that will sometimes install if you're just spamming "Next". This time it was neither of those things. She tells me that a few days ago she was looking online for business card templates so she could make her own business cards. She found this website http://www.opusmusicworksheets.com/free-music-business-forms/ . She downloaded one of the templates and she a few minutes later she gets a warning saying she has a trojan virus attacking her computer. She immediately just shut down her machine and called me. Due to schedule conflicts, I wasn't able to get to her computer that day, but she says that a couple days later she got a phone call from someone claiming that they were from Microsoft and they have detected a problem with her computer and that they could fix it for her for 140 some dollars. She went along with it and the person on the phone had her go through what I believe to be her task manager, she didn't really know what it was, but from how she described it that's what it sounded like to me. After a few minutes of her listing off some of the running processes, she eventually just hung up.

 

I told her she did the right thing, and that caller was a scammer. I told her that Microsoft never calls users every time there's an issue with one of their machines. I ran 3 anti-virus and anti-malware scans using her antivirus software (Webroot) and I'm going to scan using a couple others (AVG, and Norton) just to make sure. And then I'm going to defrag the hard drive, just to help speed up her machine a bit. But has anyone ever seen this happen before? I know scammers will sometimes get people's phone numbers online or by phone books, but could it possibly be related to something she tried downloading off of that website? The website seems to be fine, little childish, but fine. I'm just worried she may fall victim to identity theft, as she does have bank information and other things like that on her computer.

 

So yeah, anyone ever see this? Have any tips to help ensure her safety? And as always, thanks for the help.

 

 

**I'm not a computer tech by any means, just a kid who knows a little bit more than the average bear about computers.**

[Hman1250]

Use windows system restore and restore it a day or so prior to the event, then check her anti-virus system if the virus is still there. I've had trojon viruses before, they're nasty and a pain to get rid of

[Gala]

sscammer, a very smart one.

[aLemonNation]

Hey guys,

 

Okay, so here recently my neighbor came up to me saying she's been having some computer issues and she'd like me to help check it out. It's not the first time I've had to work on her stuff, and I figured it'd be something simple like Chrome's homepage switched itself to a different website, or maybe something like her extra programs that will sometimes install if you're just spamming "Next". This time it was neither of those things. She tells me that a few days ago she was looking online for business card templates so she could make her own business cards. She found this website http://www.opusmusicworksheets.com/free-music-business-forms/ . She downloaded one of the templates and she a few minutes later she gets a warning saying she has a trojan virus attacking her computer. She immediately just shut down her machine and called me. Due to schedule conflicts, I wasn't able to get to her computer that day, but she says that a couple days later she got a phone call from someone claiming that they were from Microsoft and they have detected a problem with her computer and that they could fix it for her for 140 some dollars. She went along with it and the person on the phone had her go through what I believe to be her task manager, she didn't really know what it was, but from how she described it that's what it sounded like to me. After a few minutes of her listing off some of the running processes, she eventually just hung up.

 

I told her she did the right thing, and that caller was a scammer. I told her that Microsoft never calls users every time there's an issue with one of their machines. I ran 3 anti-virus and anti-malware scans using her antivirus software (Webroot) and I'm going to scan using a couple others (AVG, and Norton) just to make sure. And then I'm going to defrag the hard drive, just to help speed up her machine a bit. But has anyone ever seen this happen before? I know scammers will sometimes get people's phone numbers online or by phone books, but could it possibly be related to something she tried downloading off of that website? The website seems to be fine, little childish, but fine. I'm just worried she may fall victim to identity theft, as she does have bank information and other things like that on her computer.

 

So yeah, anyone ever see this? Have any tips to help ensure her safety? And as always, thanks for the help.

 

 

**I'm not a computer tech by any means, just a kid who knows a little bit more than the average bear about computers.**

Sometimes viruses are FUD (fully undetectable), so scanning it with an antivirus will not help. I suggest you factory restore her computer.

[Mew]

You should use Malwarebytes to scan for any malware. It's free to use. 

[MattLantis]

Dedicated scammer, that's for sure

[CydiaDash]

At least she didn't pay them 140 dollars