Beware: Fake Virus Frauds

 

Recently my eldest daughter left to university with a new MacBook that I had purchased for her. Soon after, she received a notice that her apple security had been violated. All of the notifications appeared to be from Apple, maintaining the same font and appearance of Apple messages. This particular pop-up noted that the issue could be resolved by providing her email; where she could click on a link and allow the tech to fix her laptop. Sadly, she agreed and all of a sudden her mouse and screen was being completely controlled by someone else across the world and they were asking for money.

She called me distressed, explaining that she needed to pay. This is the best thing she could of done, as I instructed her to turn the laptop off immediately.   Clearly this was a fraud attempt and thankfully nothing worse happened, people can hide illegal photos on your computer and try to blackmail you.  Here are some learning points:
1. Banks, apple, any big company; they never contact you personal saying there is a problem.  Generally you have a problem and call customer service support.
2. It is disturbingly easy for crooks to make it look like they are for a company by pirating logos and creating fake emails
3. Never click on a link sent you unless you are 100% sure you know what is going on, it is never an emergency
4. Do not succumb to any online fraud attempts, turn off the computer and if something illegal is alleged call the police and report the incident.
5.  If ever you suspect someone or thing has had unauthorized access to your computer get it cleaned and cover your camera.  Crooks can get control of your camera and do lots of damage to you.
Often it is the vulnerable amongst us that is most susceptible to fraud.  The elderly and the young learning new technologies are exposed to such scams, let your family know about the dangers of online fraud to protect them.
Contact us if you or someone you know needs our help 519-657-1LAW(1529)

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