'Your computer has a virus' cold call con artists on the rise: Microsoft

[steve2470]

2. Tech support scammers mess with hacker's mother, so he retaliated with ransomware

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/08/17/tech_support_scam_takedown/

Vengeful security boffin Ivan Kwiatkowski has infected the computer of an Indian tech support scammer with the Locky ransomware.

Kwiatkowski inflicted the virus on the scammers after they attempted to fleece his parents.

The retaliatory strike was easy for the French malware analyst; during a phone call with the scammers he sent through what he claimed was an image of his credit card which, when opened by the scammer, unleashed the Locky ransomware.

While his ability to watch the bloodbath ended with the scammer hanging up, it is likely that Locky, rated the world's most prolific email-borne threat, ripped through the scammer's machine encrypting large swathes of files and possibly travelling through the network to encrypt other machines and connected local and cloud drives.