Our series of articles endeavours to give you a lowdown on the various scams that fraudsters use when swindling people. These articles also give advise on how to avoid being taken advantage of by these fraudsters. In this week’s edition, we shall explain how the police arrested criminals behind common IT scams and how far along they are with their investigations.
How It Works
Following investigations by IT Support Surrey, into the recent scam plans that involve calls from fraudsters in the UK, four individuals have been arrested. These four people are alleged to have frauded people under the pretence of being IT support staff.
Microsoft (a US computer giant) and the City of London Police liaised together for two years to bring down these fraudsters and it looks like they fully achieved this goal.
IT Support Fraud cases have been on the rise and one such case involves scammers that send a popup message or call unknowing victims; in these messages, they claim that a problem in the computer arose and then they offer to fix this issue vaguely. Once they are granted even the slightest access, they install a type of malware that only they (as they claim) are able to remove. However, they do this after demanding money for any service they might render.
Another scam is the follow up scam, which involves the scammers calling again pretending to be concerned. However, their sole intention is to trick these people to give up their bank details in the claim that they are to be refunded their money back.
How to Avoid Being Caught Out
Microsoft have also given free advice – not to purchase or accept any services or software if it was a person that called you. If any person claims to be from the Microsoft IT support system, customers should proceed with caution or not at all.
Another piece of advice the IT support in Surrey and Microsoft offers is that should they get a call whereby the caller claims there is a fee to be paid they are to hang up immediately. They should also never at any one time give free access and control to a third party unless they can fully attest and be convinced that this third party is a valid representative from any known computer teams.
Microsoft and the entire IT support in Surrey would also like to take this opportunity to assure all its users that Microsoft software will never use the tech popups on any of their websites or cold call their clients out of the blue and as such all users should take extra caution.
What to Do if Defrauded
If you find yourself at the mercy of fraudsters, the very first crucial step would be to change all passwords in your computer, change any codes or passwords that are linked to your bank accounts and change all passwords on your main email accounts; this ensures that fraudsters cannot access your financial accounts.
Rhonda Evans is a writer for Key Business Profiles, a platform dedicated to capturing the evolving landscape of UK businesses. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for economic and social trends, Rhonda crafts insightful content that reflects the voices of business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs across various industries.
