Torpig on Windows, Mac, Roku, Samsung TV, router-modem, etc. Real or Bullcr

[luigibleu]

A friend has a new Samsung SmartTV which will not update the built-in Sling app.

He contacted tech support by phone. The tech support guy is in India.

The tech support guy ran a log using bash and then claimed that:

1. The log showed that his Mac was infected with Torpig, which meant that:

2. His Windows computers would also be infected.

3. His router-modem, Samsung TV, Roku Box, and his Android and iphone were also infected.

4. Any other devices connected to his home network could be infected.

He was told that he needed to hire a certified Cisco level 6 technician to fix the problem and that he has two choices:

1. Take all of his devices that have been connected to his home network to a "Cisco Store" and pay $700 or $800 to get it all cleaned, or

2. Hire a certified Cisco tech, who could do all of this work remotely for $200 to $300.

What bothers me about this is:

1. I've never seen any information anywhere about Torpig or any other rootkit infecting this array of devices.

2. This sounds to me like a scam and I'm betting this tech support guy has someone he recommends that will give him a good deal to fix this remotely.

I'm a technical professional and I'm at a loss. Surely, Sling isn't ripping people off like this, so I'm inquiring here to see if anyone else has has similar experiences.

I'm tempted to contact Sling customer service and inquire, but I don't want to get someone in trouble if he's actually trying to be helpful.

[luigibleu]

Well, duh!

I googled the phone number my friend called for Sling support and it turns out to be a SCAM.

He got the number by googling "sling tech support phone number" and got a scam phone number, which is also listed as tech support for iCloud, Amazon, Comcast, and the list goes on.

 

[David H. Lipman]

Lesson learned.

Thanx for updating the thread with an answer.  It becomes a "cautionary tale" to be an example and to educate people on how search engines can provide misinformation as much as real information.  In this case Critical Though and corroboration of the results needed to be performed on the resultant information.

Is there anything else ?

Edited January 3, 2018 by David H. Lipman

[luigibleu]

it sounded bogus to me from the beginning, so I came here to confirm that it sounded wrong. Initially, I was mystified as to why Sling tech support would be selling virus removal to Sling customers. - Maybe a rogue agent making money on the side?

After posting here, I asked my friend where he got the support number. He said he googled "Sling tech support". That's when I became suspicious it was a scam I'd never seen before.

If you google "Sling tech support" you'll see a "tech support" phone number listed over and over in the search results. Look at these listings and you'll see that these are actually spam posted in forums all over the Internet - most of which have already been deleted, but are still in the search listings.

If you google the phone number, you'll see it's listed as the support number for MANY companies - all of which are fake.

THE LESSON IS:

If you type "ibm.com" into a search engine instead of into the browser address bar, you run the risk of getting wrong information, or being sent to a fake website. IF YOU KNOW THE ADDRESS, type it into the address bar, not a search engine

You'd be amazed at the number of people who don't even know what the browser address bar is and simply use google or another search engine as the way to access every website instead of using the address bar -- setting themselves up for this scam.

I'm going to look into DISABLING SEARCH from the browser address bar and recommend to those I support that they do the same.

Edited January 3, 2018 by luigibleu

[David H. Lipman]

Thank you for the update.

I will request this thread be closed.

[AdvancedSetup]

Since this issue is resolved the topic will now be closed to prevent others from posting here.

If you need assistance please start your own new topic and someone will be happy to assist you.

Thanks