Beware scammers from all directions! Criminal elements will try and trick you into handing over your money by telephone, email, post and via the web. Remember the following tips to avoid being caught out.
Telephone
Unscrupulous scammers usually call you up claiming to be from Microsoft or your telephone provider. Microsoft will NEVER call you about your computer, and your telephone provider won’t call you to give you technical support you have never asked for. A good way to deal with anyone who calls you to tell you something is wrong is to tell them that you haven’t got a computer! If you want to turn the tables on these pests, say that you will call them back, get their phone number and report it to Trading Standards. In a recent survey by Which?, the Consumer Association magazine, three quarters of respondents said that they had not been caught out by scam callers, but almost a tenth said that they had handed over money or may have allowed miscreants to access their computers.
Many viruses are transmitted in email attachments. We are all swamped with email and the rogues appear very plausible at first glance. Watch out for spelling mistakes, which are a frequent giveaway. The email sender can be easily disguised, or “spoofed” and legitimate companies that have been targeted for spoofing recently include Booking.com, UPS delivery services, Paypal, Airline companies and all the major banks. Some of the current batch of viruses are quite powerful, and can block access to your computer. In some cases cash demands are made for the computer to be “unlocked”. Do not pay these scammers or give them any of your credit/debit card details. If you struggle to remove these programs yourself seek help from an IT professional.
Post
Small businesses often receive invoices for paid entries in non-existent trade directories. Make sure that your accounts department is on the lookout for these fake bills, which often originate from mainland Europe.
Web
Advertisements on websites may lead you to an infected site or inadvertently download a virus straight to your computer. Recently the media company responsible for advertising on a major UK corporate website was tricked into publishing infected links, unaware of the mayhem caused. Beware of banner adverts that are trying to grab your attention by jiggling on the screen, or promise to speed up your computer or fix registry errors.
The Future
Look out for unauthorised QR stickers added to posters and shop signs!
Cartoons by Richard Smith http://www.richsmithillustration.com/
8 Comments
John
Thank you for this. I will forward it on to David to make sure he is aware of it.
Angela Anson
In the UK you can report fraud using your telephone please call:
0300 123 2040
Text phone users:
0300 123 2050
Scams should be taken care of as these can take one’s personal information.
Thank you for this informative post. It is amazing the length that scammers will go to try to obtain some of our hard earned cash. My Grandma almost got scammed herself, having someone calling claiming to be her grandson in need of money. Fortunately, after talking to the person for awhile, she recognized that it was not her grandson calling. Apparently, this is a fairly common scam. Thanks again for your post.
I, like many others, deal with e-mails on a daily basis, and eventually you gain enough experience to identify the spam/dangerous e-mails from the legitimate ones. You still have to be on your toes though, because even spam e-mails can sometimes have good grammar and spelling. To be extra safe, carefully checking the address of the sender can help in determining who really is behind it.
I heard about the Microsoft scam about 10 years ago. I am amazed that there are still people trying this to get access to your computer.
I guess it can still happen if they catch someone unsuspecting. It is good advice and good practice to ask them if you can call them back if you are unsure about the caller.
Hi Paul. Met you on Twitter and we’re associated in Triberr. Just thought I’d visit your blog. This is a great article and what people actually need to pay attention to. Thank you for writing keeping people aware of what’s out there. You’ve provided valuable information to help others take care of themselves. That’s what it’s all about. Thanks.
That’s bad, spammers are so bad. Once they tricked me by phone, it was a massage telling – help, immideatly top up my phone account. Mom. I was so stressed and unfocused that of course topped up her phone. After I called her and asked what happened, she thought I’ve got crazy. So, so (bad word here)… Sent a silly tricky sms to fish out some money from me. I still feel so frustrated(((