Tech Support Scamming is a Serious Industry

It’s nearly every week now, I’m hearing from at least one of you explain to me that you need someone to look over your computer, and make sure there are no viruses and that the software a scammer used to control your computer is deleted. Sometimes I get a call from you while you’re on the phone with a scammer and I can emphatically encourage you to hang up the phone—moments like these feel good. But it’s really disheartening to hear from people as they’re trying to pick up the pieces when the moment has come and gone, and ultimately, it’s too late. Some of my clients have lost tens of thousands of dollars overnight.

I frequently consider the best approach to arm clients with the information they need to protect themselves from scammers. Sometimes even the most hardened and tech savvy among you still become the victim of a scam. Nobody is perfect. By now, you may be asking yourself;

What can I do? What do I look for?

There are several things you can do to protect yourself, but the most immediate and important one is: Never let someone else control your computer. The problem with this advice is the attack vector of a scammer might be coming from the angle of providing “tech support.” I frequently provide remote tech support to dozens of clients weekly. In order to receive tech support over the phone, you’re almost guaranteed to be providing remote access to your computer to this individual. If you’ve made it this far into a scam, here are some more suggestions that might help you recognize the red flags;

If the person on the phone is:

• claiming that you’re “eligible for a refund.”

• claiming that you were refunded “too much money.”

• asking you to purchase gift cards.

• asking you to log into your bank or financial institution.

• making your screen turn black for long periods of time.

• making you feel rushed or pressuring you into a purchase.

hang up the phone.

Don’t just hang up the phone. Unplug your internet modem.

If you’ve given a potential scammer access to your computer, the fastest way to protect yourself is to shutdown or turn off the computer. Sometimes a scammer will cause your screen to turn black so that you cannot see while they attempt to wire themselves money. Many of you might interpret this to mean that your computer is already off, in which case, I recommend simply unplugging the power from your internet modem. This will sever the connection the scammer has created between you and stop any actions the scammer may be trying to put in motion.

More often than not, scammers target people that they know they can manipulate because they know that you aren’t computer literate and they count on you being too nice to compensate for it. I’ve had clients explain in retrospect that they thought it might have been a scam but that they didn’t want to hang up the phone because they didn’t want to be rude.

Call someone you can trust for help.

Get on the phone with a friend or family member and explain to them what happened. They might get you in touch with someone who can provide advice on what to do. You are also more than welcome to call me for support.

Call your bank or financial institution.

If you believe you’ve come in contact with a scammer the best thing to do is notify your bank or financial institution IMMEDIATELY. In most cases you can stop a wire transfer within 24 hours of the initialization of the transfer. Your bank might not even consider placing a hold on a wire transfer.

Educate yourself.

Seek resources that can help you better understand how scams work. Contact your bank and find out if they offer any services or procedures that can help protect you.

There is a whole sub-division of brilliant content creators on YouTube who spend the working hours of their day communicating with scam call centers in an attempt to waste as much of the scammers time as possible, in both an effort to educate their viewers and hopefully bring justice to these scammer scum bags.

I recommend giving this video below a watch. YouTuber @Pierogi is a professional on the subject of scamming and scam baiting. He frequently engages with scammers in an effort to expose their identities and hopefully expose them to justice.