According to Microsoft, cybercriminals are now turning to phone calls as a new method of attack. They call victims pretending to be computer security personnel from legitimate companies (including Microsoft), warn you of a security threat that could potentially be on your computer and then ask if you want a free security scan. If you say yes, they direct you to a website that allows them to remotely access your PC. Again, this is a scam! If you receive a call of this nature do not give the caller any valuable information or access to your PC!
People who have previously fallen for this scam have either had their computer tainted and their valuable information stolen - usernames, passwords and/or financial information - or have given away their credit card details as they were under the impression that they were paying for a legitimate service.
To comprehend the ubiquity of this new method of attack, Microsoft polled 7,000 PC users from North America and the U.K (the two locales currently exposed to the scam). 15 percent of those polled had received such a phone call and of that subset 22 percent fell for the scam. 79 percent of the time, the scam resulted in financial loss. Among those victims that incurred a monetary loss, 17 percent had money taken from their financial accounts, 19 percent had their passwords stolen, 17 percent were the victims of identity fraud and over 50 percent suffered from subsequent pricey computer problems. The amount of money stolen per victim spanned from $82 to $1,560 while the amount of money it took to fix each damaged PC ranged from $1,730 to $4,800.
Although this phone scam has only been traced to the United States, Canada, England and Ireland, it was affecting Australians back in 2010 and has the likelihood of expanding its reach in 2011.
How do you protect yourself? Use common sense, and when in doubt follow this advice:
1. Exercise caution and maintain suspicion when you receive an unsolicited calls for anything but especially for a security problem
2. Never give any of your personal information – full name, date of birth, credit card number, social security number, bank account information – to an unsolicited caller
3. Never go to a website or install software when an unsolicited caller tells you to
4. If you happen to receive such a call, take down the caller’s information so as to pass it on to the police
5. Keep all of your software updated, especially all security software
6. Maximize password strength and mandate frequent changes
If you have any questions, concerns or problems regarding phone scams please contact Bryley today at 978.562.6077 or email Sales@Bryley.com.
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