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  Geebo 8:00 am on October 10, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Amazon ( 108 ), antivirus scam, FTC ( 15 ), impersonation scam ( 144 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), wire transfer ( 4 )   

  Scam victim gets hit with multiple scams at once 

  

  By Greg Collier

  We’ve said in the past that if you’ve been scammed once, the odds are pretty good that you’ll be targeted by scammers again. Except, it doesn’t typically happen in one day. That’s what happened to one Texas senior who not only lost $75,000 to scammers, but they continued to plague her afterwards.

  It all started when she received a call from someone offering to install an antivirus program on her computer. The victim says she needed this for her computer, but in order to do so, the caller needed remote access to her computer. Right off the bat, the scammers are starting with the tech support scam. If the scammers aren’t saying they’re installing software, they’re telling you that you have a virus on your computer. Once scammers have access to a victim’s device, there’s an untold amount of havoc that can be wreaked using the victim’s personal information.

  But getting back to the story, the woman then received a message on her computer that said her Amazon account had been hacked, and she needed to call the listed phone number. Now, the scammers are following up with the Amazon scam. This is where scammers claim to be from Amazon and that there is something wrong with your account. This is done to either get your payment information, or the scammers will try to convince you that you need to ‘move your money’ to avoid being hacked.

  While on the phone with the fake Amazon representative, the victim was then told she was being transferred to the Federal Trade Commission. Not only did the scammers pretend to be with the FTC, but they pretended to be the current FTC chairwoman. This is what’s known as the government impersonation scam. Scammers will pose as anyone from local police to the chairs of federal commissions if they think they can intimidate their victims. Unfortunately, this is not the first instance we’ve seen of scammers posing as high-ranking government officials.

  The phony FTC chairwoman threatened the victim with arrest if she didn’t comply with her demands. The victim was told that someone was selling drugs and laundering money through her bank account. To ‘clean’ her money, the victim would need to wire it to the scammers posing as FBI agents.

  Again, when someone who is not familiar with how online activity works, it can be quite easy to fall for such a scam. However, there are tips to keep you or a relative safe. The first is not to allow anyone you don’t know personally to install software on your device, or give them remote access. Anyone calling to offer software is more than likely a scammer. Also, if your computer runs Windows 10 or 11, they have built-in security software already.

  If Amazon is calling or your device says you need to call them, it’s a scam. Amazon, or any other company, does not know the status of your device, nor do they know your banking activity. If any company besides your bank says there’s a problem with your bank account, they’re probably trying to scam you.

  Lastly, no legitimate government agency or law enforcement branch is going to threaten you with arrest over the phone. Neither will they ever ask you to move your money to ‘clean’ it, whatever that means.

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on August 17, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: antivirus scam, cryptocurrency ( 50 ), money laundering ( 11 ), remote access ( 6 ), Scams ( 1,354 )   

  Victim could lose home after being scammed 

  

  By Greg Collier

  An elderly New Jersey woman has already lost $420,000 to scammers, and because of that scam she may lose her home.

  It started when she received an email stating she had been charged $500 for an antivirus subscription. This is a trick scammers use to get victims to call the number included in the email, which the woman did. The phony customer service rep said they could issue a refund if the victim gave them remote access to her computer, which again she did.

  While the scammers had access to her computer, they had her access her bank account under the guise of issuing a refund. Somewhere along the line, the phony $500 charge became a real $50,000 charge. The scammers said they would issue a refund through a wire transfer. However, the victim was instructed not to tell her bank about the wire transfer because the bank may think it’s part of a money laundering scheme.

  To further this supposed protection against money laundering accusations, the woman was also instructed to move her money into an overseas cryptocurrency account. The scammers then instructed the woman to tell her bank that the large transactions being made were for antique furniture. Her bank did, in fact, ask about the transactions, and she told them what the scammers instructed her to.

  The scam didn’t end there, though. Not only did the scammers take her money, they also opened several lines of equity using her home as collateral. Now, the woman may lose her home since she doesn’t have the money to pay off the loans the scammers took out. At one point, the scammers even had her declared deceased.

  Keep in mind, this was all over a $500 refund for a service that she wasn’t even charged for.

  If you receive an email like this, the first thing to do is check your bank or credit card account to see if the charge is even there. If it isn’t, just delete the email. It’s also worth noting that no legitimate company issuing you a refund will ever ask you for remote access to your device. Remote access should only be given to people you know and trust personally. Not to mention that most refunds can be done almost instantly. Lastly, no legitimate company will ever tell you to hide something from your bank. If someone asks you to do that, they’re actually asking you to hide them from your bank.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on March 29, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: antivirus scam, bitcoin ( 31 ), bitcoin atm ( 24 ), phishing ( 75 ), Scams ( 1,354 )   

  Antivirus scam costs victim $19,000 

  

  By Greg Collier

  If you’re a computer user who’s been using the internet since the dial-up days, you may still be using antivirus software. Even older users who may have just gotten on the internet probably use antivirus software as well. If you’re in one of these demographics, you may have it ingrained into your internet habits to have robust protection against computer viruses. Most users will opt for the free package many antivirus companies offer. Others will want that extra protection and pay for an antivirus subscription. It’s the latter group that scammers are hoping to catch unaware.

  An Indiana woman recently fell victim to an antivirus scam. She says that a notification appeared on her computer that said she had been charged $500 for Norton Antivirus. The victim had not used Norton in a while, but felt the service may have been one of her bills that are on auto-payment. The notification she received also included a phone number to call in case of any questions.

  The victim called the number and was told the problem could be corrected if the customer service representative could have remote access to her computer. The victim entered an access code on her computer, and the rep then had access. The rep then claimed that they had made a mistake and the victim now owed them $12,000. To rectify the matter, the victim was instructed to withdraw $12,000 from her bank and transfer it to Bitcoin using a Bitcoin ATM at a local gas station.

  If you’re a regular reader, you already know where this is going. The notification and call center were both run by scammers. Not only did the scammers get the $12,000 in Bitcoin, but they also took an additional $7,000 directly from the victim’s bank account.

  If you receive an email, text, or any kind of message from some company that claims you owe them money, do not call the phone number included. Instead, go to the company’s official website, and use the phone number from there. Furthermore, most legitimate companies do not ask for any kind of payment in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. While Bitcoin is easy to track, it’s nearly impossible to recover once it’s given to scammers. And please keep in mind, you shouldn’t give remote access to your device to any stranger. Lastly, no real company will ask you to withdraw money from your account if they made a mistake. Any decent company worth their salt can correct the matter on their end without any need for bank access.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on May 13, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: antivirus scam, remote access ( 6 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), tech support scam ( 49 )   

  Man loses life savings in antivirus scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  You hate to see the phrases ‘scam’ and ‘life savings’ used in the same sentence. Unfortunately, that is a harsh reality in today’s internet-connected world. Scammers and con artists will try to take as much money from you in the quickest way possible. One of the quickest ways to do this is to gain remote access to someone’s computer. In most cases, in order to gain remote access to someone’s computer, the computer’s owner needs to give that person permission. That’s where today’s scam comes in.

  A man from the Chicago-area lost his life savings to scammers after he allowed them to gain access to his computer. The man used a certain brand of antivirus software that he pays a subscription fee for. The scammers called him up posing as the antivirus software company. They told the man that due to the pandemic they can no longer serve him and would like to give him a $500 refund. The scammers deposited thousands of dollars into the man’s bank account and then said that this was a mistake. In order to correct the mistake, they needed remote access to the man’s computer. That’s when the scammers were able to empty his bank account and his home equity line of credit to the tune of $200,000.

  No commercial software company is going to call you up offering you a refund. Even if there was some kind of billing discrepancy, the software company would more than likely reach out by email. Even then, we wouldn’t recommend clicking on any links in the email. Also, it should almost go without saying that you should never allow someone you don’t know to have remote access to any of your devices. If you do, they can access just about any online account that you’ve used on that computer. Lastly, you don’t really need to pay for antivirus software anymore. While you may have had to back in the Windows XP days, Windows 10 has a built-in security feature known as Windows Security that is just as good as any paid software.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on February 1, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: antivirus scam, gift cards ( 100 ), privacy ( 46 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), security cameras ( 2 ), tech support scam ( 49 )   

  Tech support scam leads to home security breach 

  

  A woman from Tennessee not only lost thousands of dollars to a tech support scam, but she also had her privacy violated by a group of scammers.

  It started when she received an email from what she thought was her antivirus provider. The email claimed that they would be automatically charging her $299 for a year’s service. The woman called the customer service number included in the email and the person on the other line said they would refund her money. She was then instructed to download an app to her computer that would aid in her receiving her refund.

  The program she downloaded was actually a remote access program. This gave the scammers control of her computer. The woman input the amount of $300 for the refund, but the scammers added two more zeros to the amount making the phony refund look like the woman would be receiving $30,000.

  The scammers convinced the woman that they just paid her $30,000 to her bank account and that she needs to return it. She was told that the only way the money could be paid back was through wire transfer. The scammers even printed out documentation she would need for her bank on her own printer since they had control of her computer. They even had the woman leave her computer on all night while they did scans claiming they had to make sure the money went through.

  In the morning the woman’s bank account was down $50,000. When she called the scammers back still thinking they were customer service, they told her that the transfer didn’t go through, and they needed $10,000 in gift cards instead.

  Then the woman noticed that the light on her computer’s webcam was lit without her turning it on. This indicated that she was being watched by the scammers. She covered up the cam but her home security cameras were also connected to her computer, so she disconnected those cameras as well.

  Before all was said and done, the woman was out $37,000 to the scammers and her privacy had been essentially violated.

  The first way a scam like this can be avoided is to not use an antivirus software. While that may seem risky, Windows 10 has a pretty robust antivirus solution built into it, and it’s free. Secondly, if you receive an email like this, and you think there may actually be a problem with your account, don’t use the phone number in the email. Instead, go directly to the company’s website and look for a phone number there. Lastly, no legitimate company is going to ask for money through wire transfer or gift cards. Scammers do this because the money is virtually untraceable once they receive it that way.