Tech Support Scams! Part 2

As I mentioned yesterday, tech support scams are rampant. But you need to be very aware, they are also changing tactics almost on a daily basis. While the latest seem to be a result of either a hijacked browser or an infected website, the earlier version that was so prominent (and still in use, just a little less so), was to actually call you on your phone. The perpetrator of this scam would say that they are a representative of Microsoft (or some other legitimate company) and inform you that their systems are reporting that you have a virus and that you need to allow them to connect to your computer to fix the issue.

Screenshot example of a supposedly infected system.

Once connected, as mentioned in my previous post, they would begin to run a few well designed scripts to bait you into believing that you have some terrible infection and that they can fix it for you for a price, which usually ranges between $299 and $499.

If you receive a phone call like this, PLEASE just hang up on them or tell them you KNOW this is a scam and then hang up on them. Then follow the instructions I provided in my previous post on what programs to run to ensure you actually don't have any infections.

The next round of tech support scams will likely be a hybrid of one of the two examples I've provided you with AND an encryption virus. We'll discuss this more in a future post. Just remember: BUYER BEWARE!

If you believe you have been scammed, feel free to contact us to schedule a thorough scan and cleaning of your computer system. We can be reached at (717) 354-4272

Happy computing!