Tech-Support Scams Prompt Google to Act
wsj.com
wsj.com
Turns out I've been using adblocker for so long that it didn't even occur to me that the scammers were purchasing Google ads.
The advantage is that the third party ad blockers aren’t able to intercept your web browsing directly and can’t invade your privacy.
I use 1Blocker.
I wonder if Dregslist will ever have a similar 'drain the swamp' moment w/ their scammers...
What I thought was really funny was the scammers literally type "Zeus troan found" into the console (typo included) and people are falling for this and giving them money. Crazy just to let someone remote into your desktop though..
[1] https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all/102-long-distance-part...
A lot of times it's the old and infirm. A friend's father is going through the beginning stages of dementia and he got taken by the "MS support" scam.
Remember: 1) they wouldn't do it if it wasn't profitable, and 2) it only takes a small percentage of folks to fall for it to make it profitable.
It disturbs me that our system of government and commerce does give a shit about this problem. The people who are caught doing this are given a slap on the wrist. I talked with a lawyer in TX once (googled a case, called him) and in the 00's a company was caught and convicted of terrible scams. They paid the fine and kept doing it, just in a slightly different way that was harder to get caught.
With that said, when your loved ones are facing mental health challenges that make them susceptible to fraud, someone needs to step in to assume a guardianship role. That's not to say the government has no role; they should be prosecuting these cases harder, but there is no magic bullet. Everyone could be doing a better job.
[1] Code that drives it: https://pastebin.com/r4L2ufkp