how did they do that??

OK, I'm helping a distant family member with a Windows 7 security issue. (Using Teamviewer, which is GREAT.) I'm a Mac guy, so I'm really clueless about PC malware, though I'm reasonably impressed with Win 7 and can get around in it.

Their system has been working fine, but (and this is explained to me by someone with practically no computer experience) they got a phone call with a guy telling them that their computer wasn't working, but he could help fix it. They go to their machine, and sure enough there is a message on the screen saying that their browser and e-mail won't work! Huh? The person on the phone instructed them to go to a website, which I believe was for a security product they could buy and ...

At this point they called me, and I told them to hang up. Fast.

As it turned out, their IE was working fine. In fact, everything seems to be fine. I did a MS Safety Scanner run, and everything was OK.

So, um, what were they seeing? I presume they downloaded some malware that self-triggered, and sent a message to the scammers telling them it did. The scammer somehow got the phone number, and even the owners name. Is this a well known piece of malware? Can someone point me to a reference, and especially to removal instructions?

Thanks much.

Hello Doula23, to Windows 7 Forums

This is the best free Virus/Malware removal tool you can get.

Download & run on the infected PC;

Vipre Rescue

Hope this helps
Don

Not sure exactly how they do it.
I know that one our forum member posted a thread regarding these types of scare tactics and scams recently here RCMP Warns of Scam Offering Computer Help!! it contains a link to what has evidently been going on in Canada.
Additionally, Microsoft has their own off line virus and malware scanner which I've found to be a reasonably good product as well. You might want to give it a try also. Just download the program (get the correct version for your architecture, 32 or 64 bit) and a blank CD. Double click the program and it will create a bootable CD for you which you can use to boot your computer and perform an off line FULL system scan, independent of your Operating System. What is Windows Defender Offline?

Originally Posted by Trouble

Not sure exactly how they do it.
I know that one our forum member posted a thread regarding these types of scare tactics and scams recently here RCMP Warns of Scam Offering Computer Help!! it contains a link to what has evidently been going on in Canada.
Additionally, Microsoft has their own off line virus and malware scanner which I've found to be a reasonably good product as well. You might want to give it a try also. Just download the program (get the correct version for your architecture, 32 or 64 bit) and a blank CD. Double click the program and it will create a bootable CD for you which you can use to boot your computer and perform an off line FULL system scan, independent of your Operating System. What is Windows Defender Offline?

Thanks. I now realize that this scam is generically referred to as the "Indian Phone Scam". Although I can't find any references to where that scam actually pops a message up on your machine. I used the MS Safety Scanner, and the machine came up healthy. So to the extent there is some malware on the machine that did this, that software didn't find it. Strange ... I'll check out Windows Defender, which I gather is something different than the Safety Scanner?