Don’t fall for a scam

Have you ever seen one of these pop up on your computer screen? Your computer stops working, a screen pops up that won’t go away, and an alert sound is blasting from your computer speakers. If you call the phone number, a carefully-trained scammer will do his/her best to talk you into transferring cash or gift cards to him/her. If you send them money, you have been scammed.

Scammers target senior citizen users and those users who have previously been scammed. Here are a few of the ways they perpetrate fraud:
– Your subscription payment of $300 or more to Norton/Microsoft/Geek Squad is due. Call a phone number to cancel.
– A package cannot be delivered to you. Call a phone number to get it delivered.
– Your Amazon/eBay/other account is due a refund. Call a phone number to arrange for the refund.
– You perform an internet search for technical help and then click on one of sponsored ads at the top of the search results. You enter a website, and it instructs you to call a number to get help.
– You click on the unrelated ads that appear on a web page you’re visiting. They download the software that locks up your computer, as above.

Here’s what to do:
– If your computer is locked up, power it down and pull the power cord from the computer. (If you’re on your laptop, you can push the POWER key until it turns off.) Wait 5-10 minutes. Turn the computer back on and run an antivirus scan.
– If you get a text message, block the number on your phone and then delete (or delete and report as junk) the message.
– Don’t call the number.
– Don’t load a screen-sharing program like AnyDesk or TeamViewer. They will use it to take control of your computer.
– Don’t send them cash or gift cards.
– Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) such as NordVPN or Surfshark when you browse the internet, especially in public venues.

India hosts a number of scam calling centers, and the operators use American-sounding names but cannot disguise their Indian accents. YouTubers ScammerPayback and Jim Browning, among others, not only sabotage the scammers, but they also provide an education to help people avoid scams. (Their videos are for mature audiences, due to foul language.)