Author: Donna Ardizzoni

Beware of the scams that are going around especially this time of year.  One of our clients was charged $200.00 on their credit card and $34.00 per month.

Tis the Season … (to be scammed)

A long time ago, in a land we may no longer recognize, the “flim-flam man” (remember Robert Preston in “The Music Man”) had to look you in the eye personally to defraud you of your hard earned money. Now it is done from an off-shore call center or by some weasel sitting in his mother’s basement. The Internet is a wonderful place for legitimate use, but it is also the Wild Wild West of the technological age.

Recently we have had a disturbing number of our elderly and less technically savvy customers call us reporting cold calls by people purporting to represent Microsoft, Dell, or a “Tech Support” organization and stating that their monitoring software reported a problem with the customer’s computer. They then attempt to convince the person to allow them to log onto their computer to resolve the issue … usually after securing credit card information to pay for the critical repair. In one case, they signed the victim up for a monthly “maintenance” contract billed to their credit card. This “PC Help Desk” software is next to impossible to remove completely without a system rebuild.

The callers have disguised their caller ID so that the call may initially appear to be legitimate. We usually get one or two of these calls a month … some of us like to play with them for 10 minutes or so before blowing them off; I am less tolerant and tend to say politically incorrect and hurtful things before hanging up.

Generally, things to be aware of include:

• Microsoft & Dell NEVER EVER call you unsolicited to offer to fix something that you have not yet complained about. This is ALWAYS a scam.
• The IRS and FBI do not send you an email with an attachment. They never email. The IRS will send a registered US Postal Service letter; the FBI will send somebody to knock on your door.
• Banks and other financial institutions will NEVER ask you for passwords or other personal information on the telephone. If they do, hang up and call them back using a phone number that you know … not from the caller ID.
• UPS, FexEx and DHL do not send email package delivery notices unsolicited. They DEFINITELY do not send message with attachments. This is the favorite delivery vector to many malware Trojans and ransomware attacks. Businesses and people who do a lot of package mailings are especially vulnerable to this method.
• Basically be very suspicious of any mail messages that include attachments … especially if you do not know the sender and are expecting it.
• If possible, use a special credit card (never an ATM or Debit card) for your Internet transactions. We have one with a very low limit JUST for that purpose.
• If you get a suspicious Pop-Up screen on your computer, POWER IT OFF and then reboot. Run your AntiVirus software full system scan and then any AntiMalware programs you might have after updating them. Goggle “MalwareBytes” or “SuperAntiSpyware” for two that are free. They are our first line of defense for cleaning infected systems.
• Backups, backups, backups … they are your true last line of defense. Get a good one and then TEST to make sure they are actually making recoverable copies.
• There are always qualified computer professionals that can help you if necessary, but look them up in the phone book or ask your Chamber of Commerce for recommendations … do not call the number that the Pop-Up suggests.