EXPERTS have warned about tech support scams that can hack your bank account and steal your money.
Cybersecurity company McAfee urged people to be on the lookout for scam tech support calls in a new blog post.
WHAT’S A TECH SUPPORT SCAM?
A tech support scam is a type of fraud comprising scammers pretending to be legitimate technical support services.
Typically, scammers have one goal with this scheme: to steal users’ personal or financial information.
They may reach out to you and persuade you to pay them to ‘fix’ a nonexistent issue with your device or software.
These messages could claim that “your computer is sending junk files to the internet,” or purport themselves to be a “security alert.”
They may also try to gain remote access to your computer to perform this “fix.”
However, after gaining remote access to your computer, they may install information-stealing malware under the guise of software.
Or they might directly steal your personal information, including bank account information.
Tech support scams can find a target in a number of ways, but one of the most common is waiting for you to reach out.
McAfee explained how this works in its blog post: “These are phony services and sites that pose as legitimate tech support but are anything but.
“They’ll place search ads, post other ads on social media, and so forth, ready for you to look up and get in touch with when you have a problem that you need fixed.”
Some examples of this include online classified ads, forum posts, and blog sites.
You might even come across such ads on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Tumblr.
What’s more, these scams end up costing victims a lot of money.
“The FBI reported that the average loss for a tech support scam approached $25,000,” McAfee said.
“In some cases, pop-up “security alert” ads spearheaded scams that cost people $200,000 and upwards to $1 million.”
HOW TO STAY SAFE
McAfee shared a number of ways that users can protect themselves from tech support scams.
“With regards to ads and search results, keep an eye open for typos, awkward language, or poor design and logos that look like they could be a knockoff of a trusted brand,” the company noted.
Next, they warned users to be wary of tech support calls. Legitimate companies don’t make unsolicited phone calls to request personal or financial information.
“Don’t click or tap on any links or call any numbers that suddenly appear on your screen and warn you of a computer problem,” McAfee added.
Users can also take proactive measures by using web protection extensions and enabling their device’s firewall.
