Q: Apple support. Support buddy
-
Jun 5, 2015 6:17 AMby ChitlinsCC,You're welcome Sweatpeas...
I cannot take credit for the sleuthing, only knowing how to ask the right folks! Bookmark the ScamAdviser homepage (and any other helpful site of this kind - I keep 'em in a folder) and YOU TOO can be Amateur Detective!
As noted, there is no stopping these critters. As demonstrated by the results, they are often offshore and constantly changing web and phone footprints. Our government cannot even protect itself (seen the news today?) so how can we expect to defend ourselves except by skepticism and vigilance?
Not judging the quality of SupportBuddy, but even if they were 100% legit and a valuable service, the scammers hijack their legitimacy (as your case demonstrates) -
Much more common and even harder to defeat = keep your eye peeled for emails from "Apple" that look and feel VERY real but are in fact clever counterfeits...
Phishing & Other Suspicious Emails
Identifying fraudulent "phishing" email - Apple Support
Identifying legitimate emails from the iTunes Store - Apple Support
Policing? The only hope we have is that ISPs and phone companies help. Most maintain "blacklists" and such, but that only slows the criminals down a bit.
Use common sense and you should be fine. It takes one "opening the door to a stranger" to get scammed.
buenos dias
ÇÇÇ
-
Jun 15, 2015 2:39 PMby ChitlinsCC,Howdy 7 1...
That's great to know - however, I only used it for its seemingly robust detective abilities. Like WOT, it seems that its "ratings" are user report to scamadvisor driven(?) - as to reviews in general, I say "caveat emptor" anyway. In my post citing it, I was careful with my wording about S******B****.net - "safe to use the site" is not an endorsement that the service is safe or a good purchase. Lawrence is careful too I see in merely citing what he did - merely suggesting not using it because of the reviews is not libelous
If you have a good snoop site for similar detailed results, I would love to know about it. There are a BUNCH of dead javascript picon-links on the mywot.com homepage - so I may need to relaunch FF. I'll add the WOT FF add-on anyway and see what ya'll are talking about. Are these umpteen reviews in the WOT Community? I am unclear. Always need more tricks in the bag.
buenos tardes, amigo
ÇÇÇ
-
Jun 15, 2015 2:46 PMby babowa,I don't bother to look at reviews as they appear irrelevant considering I get this if I do a search:
That red dot indicates that it is NOT a trustworthy site. If you click anyway, you will get a warning, although you may proceed anyway (at your own risk).
To me, a red dot = forget about the site/don't bother.
-
Jul 3, 2015 1:15 AMby borbye,My friend had same experience as Sweetpeas13. He however continued the operation and the problem was solved and he paid. My problem with this is how Supportbuddy managed to have their support number displayed during the browser hijack. I am very suspiscious...
I have communicated a few times with them, here are the most essential parts of it:
_____________
Hi Supportbuddy.
If I understand this right: Someone creates a browser hijack. The browser hijack displays a number to a technical support site - you. You help the customer and make your living on this.
It is very easy to suspect that those who created the browser hijack / spyware are those who makes the money in the end.
Please convince me this is not the case…
_____________
Thank you for writing back to Support Buddy Customer Service.
....
These spywares usually find its way into the computer without knowledge or permission through some downloads or in form of tracking cookies. It runs in the background, collecting information or monitoring your activities. A lot of spyware harvests information related to your computer and how you use it. Some spyware programs can collect information about a user, including personally identifiable information, and send it back to a central server. Depending upon which network nodes and server your internet connection uses, a number is displayed amongst many independent technical support providers, to seek help for virus related issues.
That is how Mr. xxx got connected to Support Buddy. Since, it’s a common number for the support, if he would try calling on the displayed number again; it would connect him to a different support company. That is the reason Mr. xxx was provided the direct number to the technical support and customer service department of Support Buddy in order to ensure if he come across any issues in future, he can directly call for support without any additional cost.
_____________
Thank you for writing back to Support Buddy Customer Service.
There are no specific company or users who creates these Browsers Hijacks. Whenever you browse different website you are open allow tracking cookies to your computer and these cookies keeps piling up in the system and along with these cookies, multiple add-ons and extensions takes permission to add on to the browsers. With time these extensions, add-ons, and cookies creates much junk to instigate and trigger the issues with Safari and as mentioned earlier through your server, a common hotline number shows up as an option to connect to the third party independent technical support company.
_____________
Who works together to get these common hotline numbers displayed?? Who pays who for directing customers in trouble to their site. Who creates the browser hijacks?
I am still very suspiscious!
What do you guys think?
-
Jul 3, 2015 5:25 AMby Lawrence Finch,It's not what I think. It's what I know. There is a real Support Buddy company, that may be legitimate. I'm neutral on that.
The one that advertised here is IMPERSONATING that company. They are a SCAM. If you gave them access to your computer it is hopelessly compromised, and it should be thrown away, or at least low level reformatted, and no content should be restored to it. Browser hijackings are not malware. They do not indicate that a computer has been compromised. If it has been compromised standard antivirus software should be used. You should NEVER GIVE CONTROL OF YOUR COMPUTER TO ANYONE. EVER. If you have a Mac the free AdwareMedic, written by a senior volunteer here in the Apple forums, will check and clean your computer. For free. As a public service.
-
Jul 3, 2015 9:51 AMby ChitlinsCC,SNIP... You should NEVER GIVE CONTROL OF YOUR COMPUTER TO ANYONE. EVER. ... endSNIP
I couldn't agree more... except... Apple Support "TAKES Control" ('is GIVEN' with permission) of folks' Macs all the time... e.g.,
Small white square appearing on screen
appeared to be an artifact left over from one such event
-
Jul 5, 2015 12:17 AMby borbye,I also couldnt agree more. The case was however unfortunately presented to me after the control takeover was a done deal. I would really like to hear from someone who have a deep understanding and experience with the major point about the phone number popping up during browser hijack.
Lawrence Finck, pls explain what you exactly mean. To me it seems you are making a point regarding impersonating which is not based on facts. It could however also be I dont understand your point.
-
Jul 5, 2015 5:04 AMby Lawrence Finch,Support Buddy is a real company. I don't know if it's legitimate or not, but that's irrelevant.
Malefactors send texts, browser hijacks, etc telling you that your device has a virus. They are ALL scams. There is no way for someone who does not have access to your computer to tell if it has malware, and if it's an iOS device there are no known viruses or trojans that affect iOS. Some do it just to get money, but others do it to add malware to your computer, or, in a worst case scenario, encrypt your data and hold it for ransom. The point is that NONE of them are legitimate.
This thread is about such a message that purportedly came from Support Buddy. If it really did, then Support Buddy is NOT legitimate. But it did NOT come from Support Buddy. It came from someone CLAIMING to be Support Buddy. How do I know? The link in the post was not to Support Buddy, and the phone number was not Support Buddy's. I also googled the posted phone number, and found that it had been reported multiple times as a scam.
There was also a post earlier in the thread from username SupportBuddy, bemoaning the fact that malefactors were taking advantage of their good name. But in checking out THAT message, it wasn't from Support Buddy either, because the phone number was another number reported as a scam and again, the link was a disguised link. That message was deleted by the forum hosts, so you can't see it anymore.
-
Jul 5, 2015 1:52 PMby borbye,Ahh, what you describe has not been visible for me.
Of course all of this is not legitimate. The answers I have received from Supportbuddy however seems very legitimate, their bill and their help seems legitimate. The big big issue is how a seemingly legitimate company can have their supportnumber related to nonlegitimate activities. That is why I suspect that Supportbuddy is not legitimate either...
-
Jul 5, 2015 4:03 PMby ChitlinsCC,Lawrence Finch wrote:
Support Buddy is a real company. I don't know if it's legitimate or not, but that's irrelevant.
SNIP
Lawrence
This is not really directed at you, but just a "commentary" on what these "legitimate" businesses might emulate...
I cannot track it down to post the example, but my memory is good on this one.
There is a legit company, that has been targeted by these nefarious creatures. Their response is to
- aggressively pursue the miscreants - and
- SAY SO prominently with an Alert Box - in RED - "pinned" to the top of their main entry points to their site
- their "index.htm" page
- any page that gets high result hits on Google
I am not sure, but I think that they do not focus on Macs, but rather on Windoze computer base - seems I remember also a focus on networking too - but that is really irrelevant - the main thing is their BIG RED RESPONSE for their legit customers' peace of mind.
