A not so new phony tech support call scam has been hitting the Washington, D.C area. According to MyFoxDC.com the scam works like this. A person calls the victim and tells them that a virus has been detected on their computer and that it will crash in minutes. In order to remove the virus the “tech support” person needs access to the computer. The victim allows the caller to have remote access to the computer. “Tech support” then begins to do their dirt. In the Fox report the “tech support” person robbed the victim’s bank accounts and erased their hard drive.
Breaking It Down
This is not a new scam by any means. It’s been around for quite some time now. These scams keep coming back and finding victims because people are gullible and do not have the knowledge to spot the scam.
African-American Internet users should know there is no service from any anti-virus software provider that calls you about a virus on your computer. I always say the best defense against the scam is knowledge. You should know that anybody who calls you and offers help or warning of a virus or other malfunction on your computer is a crook! Be aware.
You are responsible for the protection of your computer. You can buy anti-virus software or get a pretty good free one. But its up to you to learn how to use it and keep it up to date. Its your job to be alert to possible scams and phony software. No one is going to do it for you. Now in order to help you out here is a list of free and reputable anti-virus software. Make sure you check it out. And here is a list of phony anti-virus software. One of the things you will notice is that they look very legitimate. So you need to investigate the list thoroughly and make sure you’re not using any of them.