ALERT! – DC Area Hit With Phony Tech Support Calls – Alert!

Published On June 8, 2014 | By Tom Huskerson | Alerts
ID-100259616

Courtesy of Stewart Miles

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.

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About The Author

Tom Huskerson Bio Born in Richmond Virginia Tom Huskerson is a military veteran who settled in California after his discharge. Tom attended Santa Barbara City College where he began his writing career as a campus reporter. He worked as an intern news reporter for the Santa Barbara News-Press writing feature stories before moving on to San Francisco. At San Francisco State University Tom studied broadcast communications and began to focus on the Internet. He completed his graduate thesis on Internet advertising. Tom was the first student to ever focus on the Internet as a graduate student at San Francisco State University. After graduation he went to work for Zona Research in California’s Silicone Valley. As a research associate Tom supported senior analyst writing on the latest developments in the Internet industry. During the dot com boom Tom worked for several web businesses as a market researcher and analyst. As a writer and researcher Tom has authored various technical works including a training program for Charles Schwab security. Other projects included professional presentations on workplace violence and hiring security contractors. Tom has also written both fiction and non-fiction works and blogging for a travel website. He has published two books of short stories and completed two novels. Tom is the owner of Scribe of Life Literature and EbonyCandle.com. Tom is not the chief editor for the OnTechStreet. com. A news and information blog that focuses on tech news for African-Americans. The blog is the result of his desire to inform the African American community of the dangers and benefits of the cyber age. In his blog Tom reports on information security, new and analysis, scams and hoaxes, legal happenings and various topics that arise from the age of information. Tom believes that technology is a necessary tool for black people and they should know what is happening. Tom writes believing that techno speak is for the professional and that valuable information can be communicated using plain language. As a result he has embraced the motto, Less Tech, More Knowledge.

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