Page 7 - 11Cyber

By Dan Douglas, President, Space Coast PCUG, FL

PLEASE PRINT THIS OUT AND PASTE IT NEAR YOUR PC AND

READ IT BEFORE RESPONDING TO ANY POTENTIAL SCAMS.

Unfortunately, I have seen a dra-
matic increase in people seeking
help after being scammed on their
computers. Unfortunately, this
includes some of our SCPCUG
members. So, this month, I would
like to share some precautions you
can take to minimize your expo-
sure to getting scammed on your
computer.

Let's look at the most common
ways of enticing people to fall for
these schemes:

1) Phone Calls - Receiving or plac-
ing a phone call, supposedly from or to some recogniza- 2) PC Messages - Receiving a screen message on your PC
ble, well-known/trusted organization, such as Mi-
that informs you - take your choice - you have been
crosoft, Dell, Amazon, HP, etc. hacked, you are in danger of losing your banking pass-
Prevention and best practices to avoid falling victim: words, your PC has been used for illegal acts and will be
reported to the FBI, your IP address has been traced, etc.
If you want to contact an organization, go to their offi- The message usually states to not turn off your PC and to
cial website and click on the contact us link. Do not call some number immediately.
search for contact info. Scammers pay to be listed first
on common searches and will act as if you are calling These are commonly delivered through your browser
the real company. I've seen this many times with peo- (Edge, Chrome, Firefox, etc.) but can be cleverly designed
ple trying to call HP for printer issues or supplies. They to hide where it originated from or look exactly like com-
do a web search and call the first number that comes mon company messages by using their logos and copies
up, and the person convinces the caller that their print- sections from their actual web pages.
er may need an update, and if they give them remote Prevention and best practices to avoid falling victim:
access, they can check it out, and then it is game over.
Ignore the message – do not be scared or worried. In-
It is extremely unlikely you would ever receive a phone stead, immediately force your computer to shut down
call regarding your PC or any activities you perform. completely (NOT sleep) – pull the plug if you need to. The

scammer will usually disable many of the common ways to
close the program/browser normally, such as preventing
My advice is to immediately hang up on anyone claim-
ing to be calling from one of these organizations. (Continued on page 8)

Cyber Awareness Bulletin 7 October 2021