The internet age has made communication among individuals and businesses so easy that scammers have taken advantage of it by operating at a safe distance. A “tech support scam” is one of the most common scams cybercriminals use to take over your computer, tablet or phone. Here are 3 tips to help you recognise and avoid this scam.
1. They contact you
First of all, no legitimate technical support agency including Microsoft contacts customers individually to inform, advise and offer to fix a problem in their device. Rather, they put out generic updates for customers to download by themselves or wait until the customers find a problem and contact them to fix it. So, if someone contacts you to offer any technical support, consider them a scammer unless they provide highly compelling proof to the contrary. However, note that scammers are masters at faking IDs.
2. After you pick up the phone, there is a pause before the supposed agent speaks
A majority of scammers prefer using autodiallers. These diallers are designed to dial continuously and then connect to a human to speak once you pick up the phone. The connection takes a few seconds and you can notice a short pause. This is contrary to direct calls in which anyone who contacts you directly would already be on the line to speak straight away once you pick up the phone.
Besides, fake agents may request that you “confirm your details”. Consider it a red flag because companies do not ask for your personal details when providing free technical support.
3. They focus too much on problems instead of solutions
These disguised cybercriminals usually say anything that will scare you into accepting and doing whatever they tell you to do. The callers may direct you to go to your Windows logs and see details of issues that will harm your computer. They know that an average PC highlights some minor issues here. Note that they use a lot of jargon to sound professional. Your best reaction should be to ignore them and hang up the phone.
If you would like to get more advice on how to recognise and avoid fake tech support or get help because a scammer has already accessed your computer, contact our IT support services Cairns, today.
