Morning
all, well the scams keep on coming this year so I thought I would give a
little advice and also summarise a few that are about.
"Hello Sir, I am from Windows and we have noticed a virus coming from your IP address"
Nope. No you haven't....no siree!
Unfortunately, with their pressure tactics and reliance on people no doubt having some issues with their pc, these scammers are still getting some victims. Remember - there's no way they would have your IP address, which in most cases is dynamic (changes regularly) plus your personal details unless they have managed to raise a court order or similar to make your ISP hand over such details.If they call - tell them you know it's a scam, put the phone down or tell them you have a Macbook! Alternatively, you can do what my father did and talk about Windows and the joy of double-glazing...that normally puts them off!
Either way - NEVER give information over the phone and allow remote control access to someone you have never met or called.
"Oh look, Bob has sent us a link...nothing else on the email...oh well, lets click anyway"
A favourite by hackers is to gain the password of an unsuspecting user, and send emails to his contacts with just a link - this link can take you anywhere, even to a page that could be GMAIL, Yahoo or similar where you have to 'sign in' thereby handing your details over.
Another tactic they deploy is to change the ReplyTo on the email so when you do reply, it goes off somewhere else and the user is none the wiser.
So, if you do receive such an email, contact the person, preferably by phone or alternative email (Facebook perhaps?) and warn them they should change their password and check their settings.
I'll add more scams and warnings as I go - just remember click on nothing in an email - check with the sender and see alternative emails. Don't give remote access and financial information over the phone and always keep your anti-virus and anti-malware up to date!
Safe surfing!
Rob Smith
