You might have got a call from someone with foreign dialect and confident voice telling you about some errors or viruses on your PC. Not just this but this person must have assured you about identifying the issue and fixing it permanently. This is the scenario with almost every second computer user in the world and is nothing more than a PC Support Scam. Popular with god knows how many names, this scan bikes millions of dollars from millions of users worldwide. Unfortunately, there looks no end to it and the only visible thing is more & more users falling prey to this.
Thankfully there are ways you can spot a PC Support Scam attempt. Yes, that’s true. Check out some really useful clues:
Clue #1: They Called You Themselves
Now, this is in itself is the biggest sign that it’s a trap. Want to know how? This is because companies like Dell or Microsoft never call anyone to give such warnings. These professionals know that customers will themselves approach them at times of tech support trouble. Opposite to them are the scammers who will call you and scare you with fake errors and useless stories.
Clue #2: The Caller ID Appears to Originate From a Legitimate Number
When the phone rings, majority of people check the caller ID information. Seeing the caller ID info validating, they think that the caller is genuine which actually is not. These are the scammers who try building a pretext for their scam. Spoofed caller ID information is similar to on a fake badge which looks legal. Be alert and remember that Spoofing Caller ID info is quite easy through Voice Over IP technology.
Clue #3: Despite That Foreign Accent, the Used Name is of Western Origin
Now this is not only an easy catch but funny as well. The scammers have thick foreign accent but introduce themselves with a western name. Question them about their name and you will get an even funnier reply that the name is hard to pronounce and they to use short form to make things easy for the people.
Clue #4: They Claim That Your Computer is Sending Out Spam or Sending Off Errors or Related Stuff
A lot of stories and warnings will be made to scare you as much as possible. The trick here is creating fear in your mind and making you believe that there is actually something wrong which needs to get fixed soon.
Clue #5: You Are Asked to Open The Windows Event Log Viewer to Know The Problem
The scammers will use every trick to show you they are professionals and your computer has problems by showing some errors. An easy way to do this is asking you to open the Windows Event Log Viewer to prove their case. Remember that even log viewer always show some kind of minor error warning in your system. However, this doesn’t mean that your computer has real bugs.
Clue #6: They Ask You to Visit a Website And Install a Tool
Now this is the dangerous part and could cost you more than you can think. With an intention to infect to infect your PC with rootkits, malware, keyloggers, etc. they ask you to go to a particular website and install some tool. This is their strategy to make entry into your system. They will ask you to provide them the ID number or other credentials through which they get easy access to your computer.
Keep these clues in your mind 24/7 and ensure protection of your computer every second. Also, keep an eye on the latest tricks to catch such scammers and stop them from winning over your PC.
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