Ammyy.com Scam

Someone claiming to be from Microsoft phones you at home and tells you their logs are picking up an infection from your computer. To gain credibility, the phone scammer may give you easily discoverable information, such as your name, address, and phone number - stuff available to any random telemarketer or scam caller with a couple of bucks to spend.

Once they've gained your attention, this bogus Microsoft 'tech' then instructs you to open Event Viewer and says that any errors reflected in that log are 'proof' of a virus. The scammer then directs you to ammyy.com and tells you to run the tool and give them the ID it provides, after which they're now able to get complete remote access to your PC.

Remember:

Anyone can dial a number and claim to be someone else; The real Microsoft doesn't call their customers to report virus infections;Never run any unknown program or install any remote access tool for someone unless you are 100% certain of their identity and trustworthiness.

Ammyy.com advertises ammyy.exe as a remote access and file sharing tool. In malware terms, programs that do that without your permission are known as backdoors, password stealers, and data theft trojans. While Ammyy may have legitimate purpose when used between two *very* trusted parties, when Ammyy is used by a scammer, it's nothing more than a thief's tool.

Your best defense? Use the same trick you use with other unwanted callers - hang up the phone.

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