Thread: Tis the Season to be wary

Yes, this is the season when everyone is harried and trying to do three things at once.

Well; I wish to point out that it is the prime time for scammers and schmucks to get your information.
Lately I have had fake ""Microsoft"" scammers tell me my computer has a virus; and tell me to send my information to ""Microsoft"" tech, and had my own antivirus block about five attempts to sneak in.

Not a good time to be careless on line!!

Be aware!
~Richard

PS. The ""Microsoft"" scam may lock up your computer when you try to close it without a reply.. Just turn off your computer and restart after 15 seconds.

Good point.

And it is always a good idea to go directly to a companies website or use their listed phone number instead of following a link or calling a number you aren't sure about.

A while back my wife told me there was someone I needed to speak with on the phone (afterward she said it was because she wasn't sure about them). The guy told me we owed money or had some issue with an account but didn't give any details that let me know they were in front of a computer actually looking at my info. After talking to them for a minute (and not giving them any info) I said I would call (insert company name) back to get things straightened out. I knew this would insure I was speaking with a legitimate representative. The guy just responded something like,"oh ok you can do that" but I don't think it was what he expected me to say. I never got a follow call from the company about it and when I googled the phone number it was not listed as a business number.

I never let my guard down when it comes to people try to pry or fake bank emails. Twice I have reported emails from my bank to them as fraud alerts. They just did not look right to me. No matter what the email says or who I think it is from I alway open the web page from my browser, never from the email. That counts online retailers that I regularly do business with too. If Busy Bee Tools is having a sale that looks good in an email, I never click the link.

Also, don't forget the Government never requests money from anyone for any reason over the phone. They always use the U.S Mail to make contact and have to go through extended procedures.

When I am using my browser and get one of these hacks, I never every hit "OK". I use CTRL-ALT-DEL to open up the task manager, select the browser and then "End Task". That will shut down the browser, including any pop ups. However, be careful that when you reopen that browser, it will try to restore previous pages, so you may have to repeat the procedure a second time to get rid of the hack for good.

Also, when you get a phone call, if the caller asks you if you can hear them, never answer "yes". They can record your response and then paste it into other portions of the conversation such as "Would you like to purchase ten acres of swampland in Louisiana"...."Yes". I always answer such inquiries with a full response that does not include the terms "Yes" or "No". For example, when asked if I can hear them, I always say, "I can hear you just fine". That way, there is no way they can copy my response.

I dream of catching one of these internet thieves and using a Dremel on him.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I dream of catching one of these internet thieves and using a Dremel on him.

I would like to assist with this, but only if we can use ALL of the attachments until they're shredded and/or we burn out the Dremel, at which point we get out the other shop tools...

Screw that . . . I have LOTS of accessories, and you can HAVE mine if the first one burns out.

I just got a call from Washington DC and the automated message told me I am being sued by the IRS

Just a tip for you guys. Watch out for family members downloading viruses and what not on your computer. If you think something has been downloaded go to files, downloads, and arrange downloads by dates. Should make it easy to find what has been downloaded during that time and you can delete it hopefully.