Local computer users, businesses see spike in malicious attempts to gain access, control
BY JESSICA ANDERSEN Special to the VOICE
Computer scams are becoming increasingly more common these days. On a recent episode of Dr. Phil, he warns viewers about two new scams that have recently appeared.
The first one is a telephone scam where a call comes from a number you don’t recognize and the caller asks, “Can you hear me?” The call is designed to get you to say, "Yes," so it can be recorded.
“They can splice that ‘Yes’ and then they can add it on to a sales pitch to prove that you agreed to it,” American Association of Retired People fraud expert Amy Nofziger explains. “We don’t know if the scammers are going to use that information today or even 10 years from now. So if anyone ever calls you and is acting weird on the phone, hang up.”
The second popular scam that, according to AARP, could be the biggest consumer scam in the U.S. right now is called the Tech Support scam. This happens via phone call, email or a pop-up on your computer where someone claims to be from Microsoft or Apple and says that you have a serious virus on your computer and they need to access your computer to clear it away.
“Once they’re in your computer, they will wreak havoc and steal your money,” Nofrziger says.
Pelham PC Computer Sales and Service owner Steve Cunningham sheds some light on the subject to let readers know what to look out for to keep their computer safe from ransomware (or computer scams).
“There’s more than one [scam going around],” says Cunningham. “The big one that’s been doing a lot of damage usually will show up as an email, either from a courier [like UPS] and will say your package has arrived or is in transit, open the attachment for tracking info.”
When a user performs this task, it will unleash an encryption virus onto your computer and that will in fact lock every file that you have saved, and the only way to get back your data, if you don’t have a backup hard drive, is from the scammer, who will demand a ransom. The ransom amount is displayed on your screen, which is where the term “ransomware” comes from.
“There used to be ways to get back your data but now they’ve really done a good job,” says Cunningham.
He recalls having a customer right before Christmas, who was meticulous with his backups, and had his backup hard drive plugged in at the time of the scam. His customer received an email attachment purporting to be from his bank, yet this was a ruse. When he opened the attachment it proceeded to lock everything on his computer, including his backup drive.
“He had no choice but to pay the ransom,” says Cunningham. “When all was said and done we were dealing with Bitcoin and transferring funds here, there and everywhere, and it took about three or four hours to get his data back.”
“In the end, it cost him the customer about a thousand buck, and I know there’s cases, locally, where people have paid upwards of ten thousand dollars.”
The Voice is aware of one Pelham business targeted in recent weeks with a ransomware demand in excess of $15,000. They declined to pay, but will likely spend almost as much in IT costs rebuilding their network.
Cunningham talks about another scam that is prominent now, where he’s getting multiple calls a week to come and help.
“The computer screen goes red, ‘WARNING, you’ve got all these viruses’ and then the computers actually start talking to each other. They get a message with an 800-number saying to call Microsoft right away and these [scammers] convince users to go to the website and punch in a code [thinking it will help] and then they take control of your computer from a remote location.”
“Then they start talking numbers, and if you don’t pay up they will put a passcode lock on your computer and then you’re calling me to come straighten it out.”
Cunningham states that he gets a lot of calls about scams especially from seniors, and he talks to them over and over about what to do to prevent these things from happening but he still gets calls saying, “You won’t believe what I just did.”
“And I feel awful for some of my customers because they are getting taken for money that they don’t even have,” he says.
“It’s a very frustrating thing but there’s a lot of people getting taken, including high-functioning businesses.”
A tip he has for users is to be on guard about everyone and everything, and when in doubt, or if you’re unsure about a situation, just hang up the phone. If you get an official-looking email from your bank, call your branch and talk to someone about it.
“There’s more scams than you can shake a stick at,” says Cunningham. “You just have to be diligent.”
“I’ve had one senior in particular who was taken for six hundred dollars and then two years later he let somebody else take control of his computer and they locked his computer so he had to pay me to get it unlocked and reinstall everything.”
Cunningham tries to counsel his clients in what to do to prevent the situation from happening by talking to someone about it, whether it be their children, a friend or someone they know, or even to call him to steer them away from a potential scam. “When in doubt, do nothing. Just sit back and wait it out, think about it and don’t rush to break out the wallet.”
“I try to instill in my clients to almost be paranoid about everyone because a lot of people just want to get money from you and the internet is lawless.”
Some tips on how to protect yourself: Never give an unsolicited caller access to your computer; don’t give out personal information; protect your computer with regularly updated anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
Read online privacy policies
Alert your financial institution. If you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately and let them know.
Get further assistance. Contact the Canadian Identity Theft Support Centre at http://idtheftsupportcentre.org/ or by dialing 1-866-436-5461.
Get qualified computer help. If you have computer problems, seek help or advice from a qualified and reputable computer technician.
File a complaint. You can report unwanted telemarketing calls at www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/plt-cmp-eng or by calling 1-866-580-DNCL (3625).
Contact law enforcement. If you think the call might be part of a fraud scheme, contact law enforcement authorities or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (formerly PhoneBusters) or call 1-888-495-8501.
