Phone scams have been happening for as long as most of us can remember, but cyber-criminals are getting pretty creative when it comes to stealing your money.
We often get asked: If Google calls me, is it really them? Our answer: Not unless you called them first. Most of the time it’s someone trying to sell you a service in a sneaky way. (And we can take care of all of your Google for Business and SEO needs, so you should just call us anyway.)
But when “Microsoft” calls and says that there is a virus on your computer and the person is from tech support, it tends to seem more legit. The scam is that they try to get access to your computer by getting information directly from you in order to install malicious content, “verify” your credit card number or even lock down your computer so you have to pay a ransom to get access to it. Don’t do it!
It even happened to us! We didn’t fall for it, mostly because the only Microsoft computer we have in our all-Mac office is for testing purposes and is rarely turned on, but also because we had heard about the scam. They were quite pushy, though, and when one employee hung up on them, they called back attempting to get someone else.
There are numerous scams of this nature like the Facebook Customer Support scam we shared on Facebook recently.
If you’re unsure whether or not a phone call you’ve received for you business is legit, we’re happy to help check into it for you! Be sure to share this with your staff and co-workers so no one gets surprised.
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