Yay for Tor! It's given us ransomware-as-a-service

Re: "ransomware...as a Windows screensaver"

I'm sure you know it is not really a case of 'stupidity'.

I'm probably slightly above average intelligence, but even I know and can conceptualise of how other's brains work. Also, there are people who are not of good health, just getting up and making a cup of tea is a battle for them. Some people are from different generations and cultures.

Not everyone is a bright spark super duper heavy hitter in the 'intellect/intelligence' stakes. I would wager that those that read this website are in the higher percentile of being able to grok this stuff, but different brains have different paradigms of thought, leading to different outcomes of actions, depending on scenario.

Having said that, yes, some people are just really dumb. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder how deep this runs amongst the populace. I don't really see much evidence of higher thinking. I don't think I've even had a real face to face 'conversation' with someone about something other than the weather for about five years now. I certainly wouldn't use more than the fingers of one hand counting them anyway.

Take for example, my recent little excursion in to a bit of in depth baiting of Indian Telephone Scammers, claiming to be Microsoft.

(You can read all about it in one of my most recent posts here. I'm still in the process of leading them on and seeing just how far I can push it. I'm up to about four hours of wasting their time now. They are calling me as I write. I will answer the phone and get back to work on them a bit when I finish my other important stuff.)

So, yes, take for example this 'little' operation they have going. (I hope I'm not going too far off thread here, but it's all extortion at the end of the day) It is a very sophisticated operation. First they have to get a list of real live working telephone numbers in another country, including REAL names. Now, I can imagine a dozen places of where they could obtain this info, but I really don't know for sure where they get it from. Next, the have to have the sheer temerity and lie to someone and say 'Microsoft calling'. Then they use a nonsensical scare tactic that not even a retarded toddler could fall for, let alone someone of lower intelligence. They can hardly speak English and are unable to speak in the vernacular. They use toe curlingly embarrassing tactics like 'how old are you?' - 'oh, you sound as if you are just 18' - puhleease....

Then, when that doesn't work and they have an hour of their time wasted, they call back in half an hour using a voice scrambler to lower the pitch of the voice and start making threats, shouting, scaremongering.

Now my point is: Intelligence is a two way street. How god damned stupid are these people thinking that this shit works on anyone, that anyone could fall for that crap? Yet, they have call centres of dozens and dozens of people all firing away on the phone. You can hardly hear for the din. You can hear the conversation of the person next to them in their chicken cubicle as you 'go to make a cup of tea'. BUT... How god damned 'stupid' are the people that fall for this?

I mean, it must work right? It has to. It is a serious viable business to these people. Employing around about 50 people at least I would say. I'm sure someone has to pay for the phone call as well. 4/5 hours from India, not sure how much that costs, but I'm not paying for it. They are playing the numbers game. Some marks will be old and vulnerable and shaking in their boots. I would imagine this is the gold standard jackpot for these fuckers, to get some doddery old lady in her twilight years. I would imagine they up the fees for her. And keep calling back. This stuff works, people are getting ripped off. They wouldn't do it otherwise.

You wouldn't believe some of the shit they come out with. Someone installing a malware infested screensaver does not compare in magnitude of stupidity to what these people are getting away with. The bloke was severely lacking in the IQ dept. But yet he is able to scam people out of hard cash. What does that say about the people he defrauds? Are they 'stupid'? No, I think not so much. More vulnerable and frail, not just someone that made a bad decision because they didn't know any better.

Five people I talked to in that call centre. At one point, the bloke who came on the phone who claimed to be the supervisor/manager, was really intimidating and was not messing about. He was their enforcer. He used my real name and told me I WOULD pay, or else. He was pretty convincing and I can imagine someone who was easily intimidated would cave in. He demanded my credit card no. and would not give me a reason why it was needed, other than I owed it to them for their time and that otherwise the police would be knocking on my door.

When that didn't work, they used a charming flirtatious woman on me. They knew when to escalate and when to deescalate. All the well versed sophisticated psychological manipulations, if crudely carried out. In short, this stuff works on people. But they didn't know they were fucking with a master. I feigned vulnerability, I feigned stupidity and incredulity, I feigned a little bit of mental retardation (I'm a bit autistic anyway) and I always let them have that one thing they cherished the most - that they would get a payment out of me, after feigning being intimidated. So how stupid are they?

Obviously not that stupid because they are making a living (even if it is commission based) out of using bully boy tactics on frail and fragile minds. They can afford the odd major wind up like me. Most people tell them to piss off and that is better for them coz it saves their time. The guy that phoned back that used a voice scrambler (what a twat) was most indignant that I would waste an hour of his time. YOU ARE NOT A GENTLEMAN, he kept saying to me. Little did he know that I would later waste another 3 hours of his time.

Anyway, I've gone off piste. I'm still pretty wound up about it and just warming up to today's proceedings with them. Something just cracked with me when that Supervisor used my real name and told me that I would pay. He got really really heavy. He may even be the brains behind it all. It's shit or bust for them at that point, but the deeper in debt they go, the more they double down, it would seem.

But no, after saying all that, I don't think that people who install screensavers are necessarily 'stupid' per se. I went to download the Cobian file backup program the other day from the official site and got a drive by malware that took me eight fucking hours to clean off my system. I nearly had to do a full image restore of my OS taken the night before. I had no idea it would take so long, but it hijacked internet explorer and messed up classic shell which relies on it for system settings, so it was not straightforward. Was I stupid to trust a reputable site? These things happen, to all of us sooner or later.

I have defense in depth and can deal with it, anyone else and their system being messed would have been the least of it. They would have had malware on their system. I had two AV go off at the same time and it got blocked. But eight god damn hours none the less to get it back to where it was before.

Sorry, it just rankles me a bit when I hear 'techy' people using the word 'stupid' or 'luser' to describe other humans who don't think along the same lines as them. Then again, maybe you were right after all. Some people are just fucking dumb!

[DISCLAIMER]

I used to look after an elderly 93 year old lady who only recently passed away a year or two ago. Her whole life was based around giving her money away to lotteries and so called charities and telephone scammers would plague her day in day out. They sell the numbers of marks like this and prey on their vulnerability, be it old age, infirmity, loneliness. This lady used to fly over the African continent with her husband in a flying boat that they would land around the place as they saw fit. She lived a life few of us ever will. Even today's so called high rollers like the rich rappers with their ferraris don't know anything compared to what this woman experienced. I could go on.

But my point is, she became old and vulnerable and would send cash in envelopes to those promising to tell her fortune. Was she 'stupid'? Yes, I suppose she was. She was also at the end of her days, and going blind. She fell down one night and couldn't get back up. She lay on the floor for hours until I came back to the house to pick her up. She would have been there all night otherwise. Her family cared for her a bit, but not enough. So excuse me if I seem to have a little emotional investment in this stuff. That is why I despise these people - it's personal. They will find your weak spot and HIT. Be it your fear of shame with the Police, the implied threat of violence, or appealing to your deeper human emotions of wanting to be loved or liked and to believe that a better world exists. They are scum.

Re: "ransomware...as a Windows screensaver"

I've got news for you. They still fall for "U can haz codec, yes?" and "FREE!!1! Antivirus scanner." too.

All now older than the hills and giving the mountains a run for their money.

Unfortunately nobody has yet built an OS that's proof against "Yes of course I want that installed and I'm happy to grant you the privilege to do it!".