Introduction
Personal use of Windows requires a Microsoft account, which includes a credit card. This is a license to steal by cyber criminals. In my case, I sought help resolving an issue I believed was a Microsoft problem. A Google search nets many results, including some from Microsoft. It’s not always clear that Microsoft is behind these sites.
The Encounter
In my case, that was certainly not the case. The person who answered my call was Ron Martin, who claimed to be a Microsoft employee. He also claimed to have solved the problem literally within minutes. Then, the phone was passed to Frank Edward, who offered to refund some of the money I had expected to be paid for the technical support.
Remote Desktop Access
They then got access to my system through remote desktop. I began to see what was going on and I tried to stop my Internet access by putting my computer on airplane mode. Yet, Roy Martin quickly set up the computer to put me in update mode, and I could see nothing on my desktop. All I could do was shut the machine down. As soon as it came back up, Roy Martin was on top of it. Before the update screen appeared, I could see him searching the password file for other financial sites.
Attempted Solutions
I purchased Norton with the concern that what he saw may have been incorrect and my files would be corrupted with ransomware. I could find no examples of this being the case, but Norton would prove worthless if they applied it after the fact.
Continued Intrusions
As both individuals succeeded in remote desktop access, they continued to post messages on my screen asking me to call them or transfer money. Frank Edward gave me his bank details for the transfer of funds, which was Bank of America in New York City, under a Chinese name. I saw the wire transfer request. The bank terminated the wire transfer. All notions of strong passwords and very little concern for remote desktop security were evident. It is possible to see passwords and how they are linked to various websites.
Remote Desktop Vulnerabilities
The villain here is remote desktop access, not web access. Roy Martin even inserted software on my computer that alerted him when I powered it up again, irrespective of the hours. The only thing wrong here was the passwords. I called for help from the police cybercrime section.
It seems odd that Microsoft puts so much emphasis on security, yet their desire to get money from the Microsoft store follows security only as far as having a valid credit card.
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