The bad guys will tell you anything to get you to let them into your computer.
Then they will try to scare you into paying them to fix a problem you never had. Sometimes it’s an annual fee or even a one-time fee. And sometimes they want you to get them gift cards to pay for fixing it. Crazy, right? True, but it happens every day.
Know the warning signs…no one will call you and tell you your computer is infected or that there’s something wrong. Not Verizon, not Comcast, not Microsoft or Apple. None of them will call you.
But maybe you never received a call, but landed on a poison website instead. The website says your computer is infected and gives you a number to call. Sometimes it speaks to you through the computer. You might even hear a siren that just won’t stop. When this happens, just press the power button for 10 seconds until the computer turns off. Wait 10 more seconds, then turn it back on. Chances are the bad website is gone and you can carry on. If it doesn’t, you better have us take a look.
If, by chance, you let someone onto your computer and they start moving your mouse around…shut the computer off and don’t answer their phone calls. If you figured out the scam in the middle of the call and told them you don’t want to pay, they may become vindictive and put a password on your computer until you do pay. Nasty stuff for sure. Our biggest fear…they install a rootkit or keylogger program that may record you logging into your email, bank or online shopping account. If that happens, all kinds of bad things are sure to follow.
No need to get a new computer when this happens, but there are things you need to do. We can “scrub” the computer and look for the bad programs and remove them. The computer will be safe again to use, but you may want to alert your bank or credit card companies. And we will want to change some passwords just to be safe. We can even install our WebGuardian program to help prevent this in the future. Click HERE for more details.
