The Holiday Season is here and many of us will be spending time with family and friends. This would be a great time to share some knowledge with your parents, aunts, and uncles who may not be aware of some of the cyber scams out there.
At Mi-Tec, we have “walk in” repair service, and we get to see what kind of trouble our customers and clients are getting into. One particular issue is the “Fake Tech Support Scam.”
Now, if you remember one thing, remember this…. legitimate companies will never place a message on your computer instructing you to call them about a virus infection or any other issue with your computer. They will also never call you on the phone to tell you that you are infected or have a computer issue. Genuine alert messages (such as from an antivirus program) do not contain a phone number, and they do not appear in your browser window.
If someone calls you and wants information about your computer, credit card, bank account or any other personal information, HANG UP. If they say they are from Microsoft Tech Support and need to remote into your computer… HANG UP. If you get a pop-up on your computer stating that there was “suspicious activity” on your computer and to call them “Toll Free,” DON’T DO IT!
Scammers create alarming looking messages to try to get people to call their “tech support.”
If you are surfing the web and something pops up about your account being suspended, you are infected, or “suspicious” activity was detected, ignore the message and run antivirus and antimalware scans on your computer.
If you get an email that looks like it came from your bank, the IRS, the FBI or some other agency, don’t click on any links. The government usually sends you a notice via the post office or visits you in person. You should go directly to your bank, credit card, or government site by typing in the address, using one of your browser shortcuts, or finding it via a search engine. Suppress your urge to click on stuff delivered via email.
Now you have some knowledge to share at the dinner table this holiday season. Have a nice holiday, and be careful on the roads and on the web.