Popup SPAM Mimics XP Error Reporting Message

[f.long]

I have a small computer repair and consulting firm, and have been
getting call from my customers that while visiting certain sites that
they receive a popup that looks exactly like a message generate from
the error reporting mechanism in XP. This is not messenger traffic,
but the popup says that a critical error has been generated on drive
c: and gives the option of sending the error report to MS. Should
you click yes, it takes you to a site that request personal
information, such as name, e-mail address, and payment information to
report the error to MS. To my knowledge MS never request such
information. Sounds like Phishing to me.

 

[MooGooGaiPan]

Bingo ! Give that man a gold star.

 

[Plato]

report the error to MS. To my knowledge MS never request such
information. Sounds like Phishing to me.

You are correct.

 

[Alex Nichol]

This is not messenger traffic,
but the popup says that a critical error has been generated on drive
c: and gives the option of sending the error report to MS. Should
you click yes, it takes you to a site that request personal
information, such as name, e-mail address, and payment information to
report the error to MS. To my knowledge MS never request such
information. Sounds like Phishing to me.

Yes it is. You might report the site concerned to Microsoft. Note also
that there are pages around that purportedly have a link to click that
*looks* as if it is going to a Microsoft page (or CitiBank, or AOL, or
PayPal. . .) but which if clicked *actually* goes somewhere quite
different. Microsoft is advising that if you see a reference you should
copy it manually into the address bar