The most common scam we are seeing this June 2016, maybe the most common scam throughout all of 2016 so far is there one where the victim actually calls the scammer and allows them to take control of their computer.
For a long while for the past 10 years there have been countless reports of people calling Australians with foreign sounding accent informing us they were from somewhere like Telstra and Optus and we had viruses on our computer and they would be able to remove them for a fee.
This kind of scam is called phishing; they throw in enough lines and sooner or later they get a bite. They then do all sorts of things to your computer including lying about what is on there or locking you out altogether until you pay them.
This is a very old scam now as internet times goes but there seems to be a new twist which seems to be getting a lot of our customers.
First you find an advertisement
The first part of this scam involves the criminals casting a wide net. But now instead of calling 1000’s of people trying to get a bite, what they do is buy advertisements on a large range of different websites.
How this works is the criminals approach websites owners (even legitimate websites) and ask to buy advertising space.
There advertisements offer something to entice you to click on them and you do without thinking about it. This does nothing wrong to your computer but what it does a lot of the time is mislead you to think something is going wrong.
The convince you with a picture which looks a lot like most peoples antivirus programs, that you have a virus on your computer.
The Trickery
Ok, so now you are convinced you have a virus on your computer. But, luckily at the bottom of the advertisement disguised as an antivirus program is a phone number for you to call who will be able to help you.
You call the number and the attendant on the other end asks you to click on a few things to allow them access to your computer so they can have a look totally free and see if there is any infections.
They always find something; no matter what,
Most of the time there is nothing wrong with you computer but they wont let you know that!
A few clicks later and the criminal not only has control of your computer, but will also add there own programs to gain access again down the track, plant viruses and spyware, or simply destroy or lock you out of your computer until you pay them.
Once you pay them, they are gone. No virus removal, no fix.
What to do
If you get caught in this scam the very first thing you should do is turn your computer off, or disconnect from the internet.
If you do internet banking or any kind of online business transaction involving money, including using Paypal or email etc is call them up (your bank) and change your passwords. You can also use a mobile phone or computer you know has not been compromised.
Call Ross on 0402 807 890 and I will be able to tell you whats on your computer and what has been effected and what we need to do to fix it.
