So I am aware of this scam because I have heard it before, but not everyone has. If you are familiar with the scam you are less likely to be caught by it. Also the scammer's cost is their time. I talked to them for 21 minutes and 30 seconds before I got bored.
09:36 The call starts with a recorded message (female voice, Australian accent) saying it is Telstra, and your IP address has had its security system compromised. Press 1 to talk to a technician.
Your internet service provider won't cold call you with a recorded message. Also I'm not a Telstra customer. This is the first warning that it's not real. They want the call to sound scary and urgent so that you'll do something.
I always dial 1 (unless I'm in a hurry).
09:37 I'm put through to a person with an accent. He launches into a pitch about how he is from Telstra and there is a problem with my security system and my IP address. How do you know the caller is really from Telstra? What if the caller wasn't?
I interrupt to say that I don't know what an IP address is. He says that suspicious traffic was detected coming from my IP. I tell him that I don't know what that means. Is it something to do with intellectual property? Oh it seems this is internet protocol. He wants it to sound technical, so that I'll think he knows what he's talking about. A scam requires you to trust the scammer.
09:38 He asks if my computer is connected to the internet. I play dumb and say that I think I have internet on my phone. He asks if I have a computer. I say yes. He asks if it is connected to the internet. I say I don't know. Scammers depend on you not really understanding.
09:39 He asks if I ever shared my wifi password. I tell him I don't know what that means. This is an effort to improve his credibility. Of course, don't go telling people your wifi password, but if you get hacked, it is most likely because of a virus or trojan installed on your PC, rather than someone using your wifi. At this point he puts me through to his supervisor.
09:40 I tell him that I'm concerned that if my internet is not secure, isn't it risky for me to let him look at stuff? Won't this just help the criminals? He says that these criminals have got into my internet connection. They are "overseas people". Practically it is likely that the scammer is calling from "overseas" where it would make it hard for Australian authorities to prosecute him.
09:42 I repeat my question. If the "overseas people" can get into my internet connection, shouldn't I just shut it down, not grant access to someone who just called me out of the blue. He assures me that we will lay a trap for the "overseas people" and to them, it will seem like my laptop is off.
09:43 He asks if I have a Windows or Apple Mac computer. I say I don't know, but it says "MacBook Pro" on the front. The scam is about trying to install software on my computer so that later they can do things like install ransomware, or steal personal data from me, so they want to know what kind of computer I have so they know how to attack it.
He asks me to open up Safari. I say I don't know what that is.
He asks me to open up Google Chrome. I say I don't know what that is. At this point he asks what I use the computer for. I say to play games, and to write letters to people.
09:45 He says to hover my mouse over the icons. Oh I see Google Chrome now! He says to open it. I say oh it came up with Facebook. Oh yeah I remember. I use this for Facebook.
He explains how to type in a web site www. Yes got that. Team Viewer. Is there a space? Oh no space. Yes OK got it. Now . and c o m. Oh yes .com I have heard of that. Team Viewer is a legitimate site that allows remote support. Scammers get you to run this to give them access to your computer.
09:46 Click enter. OK I read out the site to him. Sounds good. OK click the download link. I said I see "Windows" "Mac" "Line-ux" "Chrome OS". Oh "Chrome" is the one you said before. Should I click on that? No click in Mac it seems.
I said I got an error.
He asks what the error was. I said something about internet security.
He asks me to read it out, but I said sorry I already closed it. I'll need to go back. What was the site again? Team Security?
09:48 I click on the privacy policy link (next to the download link). He asks if the file downloaded. I read out the privacy policy to him. (He is very patient!) I tell him that maybe I clicked wrong.
09:50 I tell him I'm a bit concerned that I'm not actually a Telstra customer. This is a red flag. This should alert me that something is not right. He says that Telstra are the main internet service provider, and all other internet goes through them, so that is normal. Is that true? How could you make sure? You could hang up at this point, and call your internet service provider to double check.
09:52 He tells me that once I install the application it will say it is connected to Telstra's secure server. Think about it. This caller could be anyone. Anyone could make an app that says "You are connected to Telstra's secure server" and it means nothing.
I say I can't see the download (I didn't actually download anything. Don't download stuff that a stranger says to download!) He says to look in the top right corner and see if there is an arrow. I say that the top right corner has the date and time, and it says my batter is 100%. He asks if I see teamviewer.dmg. I say I don't see it.
He says check in the bottom left corner. I say I see icons in the bottom left, and one that looks like the Mac smiley face.
09:55 He says to hold down the control key (and talks me through how to find it). I say OK it's down. He says to press J at the same time. I'm not sure what this is supposed to do, but it doesn't do anything.
09:57 He's still trying to trouble shoot why team viewer didn't download.
I tell him that I need to go now, but that I think his company is dishonest for trying to scam people, and he shouldn't work for them.
