Senior Beat
by Carol Higgins Taylor
Special to The Weekly
I have talked about scams and ways to protect yourself for a very long time. I think I am pretty savvy when it comes to fraud. But there is always someone who is a little savvier, with a smooth, convincing line that can make you rethink everything you know.
Recently, I was doing research on the Internet when a screen popped up suddenly warning me that I was about to lose everything. All my files and pictures. I could not click out of the screen because it had locked my computer. I was warned to not shut down because that would corrupt all my files and I would, again, lose everything.
I was instructed to call the “Microsoft technicians” at a toll-free number. I did as I was told as I was in full panic mode. A woman with an Indian accent insisted that she be given permission to “take over” my computer, be given total access, so that she could find the problem and fix it. When queried about her working for Microsoft, she admitted that she was a “technician” but didn’t actually work for Microsoft.
I was immediately suspicious but still had a locked computer. I asked if there was a charge for her fixing what was wrong with my computer. Yes, $150. There it is. At this point I am happy to say my savviness kicked in and I hung up.
But I still had a locked screen with the threat of losing everything. I called the Geek Squad at Best Buy. I’m happy to report that a representative talked me through it and said, based on what I had read to him on my screen, I could just turn the computer off at the source. I did, then restarted, and all was well.
The moral of the story is how close I came to giving access to the stranger on the other end of the phone. As I said, I’m pretty savvy but was almost a victim. I started worrying about what someone, who did not work with organizations who fight fraud, would do in this situation. What about trusting seniors who would take the threat seriously and just agree to give access. Second moral, I bought an external hard drive so my files are automatically backed up separately from my computer.
This scam is called a Tech Support Scam. It can go a variety of ways. It can be a phone call saying a virus was detected or, as happened to me, a locked screen. If the scammer is given access, they can retrieve stored information, including Social Security numbers, bank accounts,
usernames, passwords and credit card numbers. They also can install spyware that allows the
scammer future access to users’ information.
Then there is scareware, which are automated programs that are designed to trick you into purchasing or downloading unnecessary and or potentially dangerous software.
Scareware is frequently encountered through popups, emails and phony websites that offer free security scans or that claim to have detected a virus or other malware. The look like they are being generated by the computer but in reality they are only being displayed in the computer’s browser. Kind of like a locked website.
What to do? Install top of the line virus protection. Do not panic when something happens. Do not fall for a phone call that tells you your computer has a virus. While this can be a very scary experience, as I can attest to, there are businesses locally that will help you if you get into trouble.
And if you have important stuff on your computer that you don’t want to risk losing should something happen, invest in an external hard drive. They are pretty inexpensive, like $50, depending on what you buy, but worth it for the peace of mind.
There is a wealth of information about various scams in easy to read and follow booklets produced by the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection. These are free for the asking and I highly recommend them. Order more than one set and give to friends. Call 800-332-8529
to get your copies.
Carol Higgins Taylor is an advocate for seniors and owns Bryant Street Public Relations in
Bangor. Email her at seniorbeat@gmail.com.