Scammers try many different avenues to get into your computers to defraud you of your money and steal your identity. The caller is usually an English-as-a-second-language speaker (hard to understand) and there is often chatter in the background.
The latest scams to come to my attention are:
- “Amazon” calls – scaring you about a large fraudulent purchase for items that you did not order; expensive large screen TV or computer are their favorites. Hang up! Do not interact with them. Do not give them a credit card for a refund. Do not let them into your computer. Do not give them your Amazon sign-on to ‘refund’ the charges. It is not Amazon calling!
- “Microsoft’ calls – scaring you about a virus or expired license on your computer. Hang up! Microsoft NEVER calls you. Do not interact with them. Do not let them into your computer. They will try to sell you an expensive ($299 – $1199) “service contract”. It is not Microsoft calling!
- “Auto warranty” calls – scaring you that your auto warranty has expired, and maintenance repairs could be expensive. Hang up! Do not interact with them. They are not legitimate and only want your money.
- “Medicare” calls – offering to send you a new, improved Medicare card. Hang up! Do not give them any personal information. They want to seal your Medicare number and benefits. Medicare NEVER calls you and is not replacing cards.
Do you see a pattern here?
- Do not trust any unsolicited calls (they call you).
- Just hang up on the caller! They are most likely scammers.
- Do not interact with the caller, no matter how persuasive they are.
- Do not give them any personal information they ask for.
- Do no pay them any money. Call your credit card or bank if you did pay them.
- Do not let them into your computer. Call me to clean up what they did to your computer if you let them in.
- Change your password if you let them into one of your website accounts.
