Tech support scams are another avenue that cyber-criminals are approaching to gain profit. It majorly targets fooling users into paying for fixing technical issues in their computer system. Tech support scammers make you believe that you have serious PC issues that cannot be solved without technical support.
Working Strategy of Tech Support Scams
Tech Support Scammers masquerade themselves as support representatives and contact users via phone. It also involved spoofing the caller id to make it look legitimate. The representative then asks the user to give remote access to his device to look into the issues.
In other scenarios, scammers can also use an error message to build a sense of urgency in the user’s mind forcing them to contact the technical support team. In addition to this, they may also fill your computer screen with messages forcing you to visit the support team website. All these acts aim at fooling users into calling the technical support numbers.
Once you get in contact with a tech scammer they can ask you to make one time payments for looking into the issues and charges of the support service.
So phone calls, online ads in search page results, pop-up warnings are some of the tricks that tech scammers use. Here are a few points that can help you spot Tech Support Scams.
- Legitimate companies will never try to contact you individually via phone calls or emails. If you are receiving a call providing technical support the best action is to simply hang up the call.
- Also, official companies will never place a pop-up add on your computer screen asking you to contact them. Be vigilant to differentiate between real and fake security warnings.
Scammed! What to Do Next?
Have you been scammed? Here are a few steps that you should take as soon as possible:
- If you have given remote access to your device: Immediately run a system scan using a powerful security program and eliminate all areas of issues.
- If you have paid for the services using a Debit/Credit card or Gift Card: Contact your bank or the gift card company to stop the transaction and block the cards for further use.
- Have you shared your account password? Change the account password right away and use a strong password that is hard to crack.
Reporting Tech Support Spams to the Federal Trade Commission is essential to keeping it at bay. Make a difference by reporting scams. In addition to this, you should also safeguard your device with a powerful antivirus program and only rely on official websites for technical support.
