'855-341-4034' Pop-Ups

There is a new support tactic out in the wild that researchers refer to simply as the '855-341-4034' pop-ups. It's still not clear completely what redirect methods are used, but the ultimate goal of the tactic is to redirect the victim to hxxp://microsoft0x80240012us(dot)ml – a domain that brings up a console-like interface inside the Web browser. However, cybersecurity researchers suspect that the '855-341-4034' pop-ups are not associated with malware and, instead, the users are likely to come across them while they are browsing low-quality websites that are not deemed trustworthy.

The fake console window is full of lines, which start with "windows malware detected\hard drive problem\" and that string is followed by what seems like a random selection of files with suspicious names that look like malware, all located in C:\Windows\system32 allegedly.

Of course, seeing this fake browser-embedded console doesn't mean the corrupted listed files exist, but the authors of the hoax rely on social engineering and scare tactics that can fool a lot of people. The tactic further includes a fake technical support phone number that is not connected with Microsoft in any way, even though the Web page claims so. The end-goal of these people is to convince users into getting in touch with them, which will provide them with another opportunity to provide false details that are likely to scare them into thinking that they need to do whatever is needed to fix their PC immediately. Usually, the con artists offer a convenient 'remedy,' which, however, does not come cheap – the targeted user might be asked to pay hundreds of dollars for what the tricksters claim to be a great piece of software or a PC maintenance session with their computer technicians.

Users who run into this particular tactic should first and foremost remember that Microsoft will never reach out to them for unsolicited phone calls and slap a real support telephone number in a browser window that pretends it's a console.