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  Geebo 8:00 am on May 6, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: pop-ups, remote access ( 6 ), Scams ( 1,237 ), tech support scam ( 44 )   

  Pop-up scam continues to plague computer users 

  

  By Greg Collier

  It was just a little over a week ago that we were discussing the pop-up scam that affects computer users. This is where someone is using their computer when all of a sudden their screen is overtaken by a pop-up message that states the computer they’re using has gotten a virus. Typically, these pop-ups claim to be from a large tech company, most commonly they claim to be from Microsoft. These pop-ups also contain what appears to be a customer service number that the user is supposed to call to get their computer working again.

  These phone numbers do not go to Microsoft. Instead, they go to a group of scammers who are looking to extort money from the computer user. More often than not, the user is instructed to give remote access to the phony technician. This allows the scammers to go through the personal files stored on the computer. The scammers will then come up with some reason that the computer user has to pay them money, usually through non-recoverable means like cryptocurrency.

  The reason we’re bringing up the pop-up scam so soon is that it seems to be on a meteoric rise. Just today, we found several instances of it happening across the country where victims have lost thousands of dollars. For example, a man from Lincoln, Nebraska, paid $4000 in gift cards to scammers. In the Kansas City Metro Area, two people ended up losing $30,000 total to scammers who made their victims pay through Bitcoin kiosks. In the Green Bay-area of Wisconsin, residents there lost a total of $78,000 to scammers who gained access to their victims’ bank accounts and converted the money to Bitcoin. And in the Cleveland, Ohio, suburbs, a man lost $18,000 to scammers who also had him pay at a Bitcoin ATM. Those are all the stories about this scam that we found in one day. Who knows how many others have happened without being reported?

  If anyone you don’t personally know asks for remote access to your computer, they’re almost definitely a scammer. Also, keep in mind that companies like Microsoft hardly ever reach out to consumers in that way.

   

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  Geebo 9:00 am on March 1, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: banking ( 3 ), Microsoft ( 18 ), pop-ups, remote access ( 6 ), Scams ( 1,237 ), tech support scam ( 44 )   

  Tech support scam costs victims hundreds of thousands of dollars 

  

  By Greg Collier

  If you’re tech-savvy, you may think to yourself, how can anyone fall for a tech support scam, especially one that involves pop-ups? In the past, pop-up windows were such a nuisance that most modern browsers come with pop-up blockers. Today, we hardly even think about pop-ups. However, if we do come across one, we largely ignore them and never go to that website ever again, as it could be providing false information or trying to inject malware into your system. Unfortunately, not everyone is that technically inclined, and those are the people that scammers are preying on. It might not be so bad if the scammers were only taking a few dollars, but these con artists are taking money from people in the six-figures.

  There’s not a lot of information on this story, but we imagine this is how it happened. A woman from Ohio saw a pop-up on her computer. It probably said that her computer had been hacked and left a phone number for her to call. The scammers posed as her bank and was told her bank account had been compromised. In order to protect the funds, she was told to give the person on the phone remote access to her computer. She was also instructed to move money from her IRA to a checking account. After it was all over, the scammers had stolen close to $300,000 from her.

  In Lincoln, Nebraska, a man fell for a similar scam. He also received a pop-up that said his bank account had been hacked and gave a number for him to call. This time, the scammer posed as a Microsoft employee. Again, the man was asked to give remote access to his computer. He was also instructed to move his money to another account, an account that scammers had access to. The man was even instructed not to discuss the matter with police. The scammers took just a little over $200,000 from him.

  Let’s just say that these two instances were committed by the same group of scammers. By just finding two people who fell for their scam, they were able to collect half a million dollars. Scammers don’t need to fool everyone, just a handful of victims.

  If you know someone who may be vulnerable to this scam, please let them know that this isn’t how their devices work. If they see a message that says they’ve been hacked, that message has definitely been sent by scammers. Also, they should never call any phone numbers attached to these pop-ups, as they’ll always connect you to a scammer. Last;y, they should never give anyone remote access to their device, unless it’s that one family member who fixes everyone’s computer.