Phone Support & Refund Scams
Have you had the misfortune to encounter scammers who convinced you to let them take control of your computer? If you have, you’re not alone. You are not the first, and you definitely won’t be the last to get caught up in the cunning scams of the criminally inclined.
What to do immediately after a phone scam:
If you haven’t already, the first order of business should be notifying your bank, cancelling any affected credit/debit cards and changing passwords for any websites that could be an issue if your login details fell into the wrong hands. These include passwords for email, online banking, PayPal and shopping sites. Do it now or as soon as possible. DO NOT use the computer that was remotely controlled to make these changes! That device should be switched off completely until you can be sure it’s clean and okay to use online again.
Keep you and your computer safe online:
After such a security breach, your bank or other financial institution will likely recommend having your computer checked professionally to ensure it is safe to use and the criminals haven’t left anything dangerous on it – e.g. a key-logger, banking trojan (malware) or remote access software. We definitely agree with this advice and recommend that you get someone knowledgeable go over it before you use it again; just to be safe.
If you’re in the Sittingbourne area, please contact us – we’d be happy to help you get back to normal again. Here at JustInspired, we’ve handled many of these remote scam cases over the years and have experience with checking and cleaning up affected computers. We can also provide consultation about online safety and recommend things you can do to help you achieve a more secure Internet experience, as easily and stress-free as possible.
The mental & emotional toll of a support scam:
Many of our clients have feelings of shame and also disbelief that they fell for the scammers ploy, but remember, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Scammers can be very persuasive, manipulative and believable. It is literally their job to convince people using ‘FUD’; fear and uncertainty and doubt, to make you do what they want. When you are ‘in the moment’ and the person doing the scamming makes you feel like there is urgency to the situation, you don’t have the time to step back and think about it rationally.
If you take anything away from this unfortunate event, it’s that anyone can have a moment of vulnerability where they let their guard down and fall for something that seems completely reasonable at the time.
How to handle a ‘tech-support’ or similar scam:
If someone calls you out of the blue, don’t just take their word for it, no matter how genuine their story sounds. Call the company or organisation in question using VERIFIED phone numbers or other contact channels to make sure it’s legitimate. Don’t just ‘Google it’, for example; “BT support number” because some search results could be fake. Instead, use a previous bill to find the right contact number or go directly to their website; e.g. bt.com
