“Hoaxes attempt to trick or defraud users. A hoax could be malicious, instructing users to delete a file necessary to the operating system by claiming it is a virus. It could also be a scam that convinces users to send money or personal information.”
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Internet Hoaxes)
Stop, Look, and Think before you act!
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) established the Internet Crime and Complaint Center (IC3) in May 2000. IC3 serves as a central repository for various complaints of Internet crimes. The 2017 report emphasizes and provides what types of cases the IC3 has been monitoring over the course of the year. Canandaigua National Corporation would like to point its attention to Tech Support Fraud.
Tech Support Fraud
Criminals pose as customer service, security, or technical support vendors in an effort to defraud unknowing individuals and gain access to the individuals devices. These criminals constantly change their tactics to continue the fraud including use of telephone calls, pop-up and locked screens, search engine advertising, and URL hijacking/typosquatting. Once the criminal takes control of the victims’ devices and/or accounts they installed viruses, key logging software, and malware. If they are on the phone with you they become belligerent, hostile, and abusive if challenged by the victims until the criminals get what they want—your money!
Here are some suggestions on how to protect yourself:
- Resist pressure to act quickly. Criminals will urge the victim to act fast to protect their device. The criminals create a sense of urgency to produce fear and lure the victim into immediate action. Stop. Look. Think before you act.
- Recognize fraudulent attempts and cease all communication with the criminal.
- Do not give unknown, unverified persons remote access to devices or accounts.
- Have you become a victim? Do this: Shut down your device immediately. Ignore any pop ups.
- Do not re-contact fraudulent tech scam companies.
Protect your identity! Individuals should immediately contact their financial institutions to place protection on accounts as well as change passwords and actively monitor accounts and personal information from suspicious activity.
Lastly, file a complain with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ic3.gov. The more often fraud and scams are reported, the better equipped law enforcement can be to address this issue.
For more tips and news letters visit www.cnbank.com/security/