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Up tick in computer scams Article for: Everyone Difficulty: Easy Importance: Very In the last month, 3 people have called me with disastrous computer problems. All three were elderly. A person called them claiming to be an Amazon representative who would help them with their account. Each client gave those strangers remote access to their computer. They may go in directly, or give you a number to get to a support representative who can help you. The number is fake. The representative is a fake.
Once you let a crook into your computer, you face colossal problems. You magnify these problems if you re-use the same password in multiple places. After getting into your computer, they can return anytime they like when you aren't around and go through your email, any browser passwords you are saving and whatever else might be available to the miscreant with complete access to your computer.
Here are absolute rules to follow to avoid these scams.
If you are old, freeze your credit reports. Young people may need to set up new borrowing and might need to keep their credit reports open, but older people seldom need credit checks. If we buy a new home or car all we need to do is ask the vendor what credit bureau they use, and unfreeze that bureau for a week. Freezing and unfreezing is free.
Here's an FAQ from the FTC on Credit freezes. I recommend freezing 5 credit bureaus. I wrote an article on it in August 2018 which links back to previous articles. Those articles appeared before congress made the freezes free, so ignore my pricing information.
Further information:A good 4 minute news show.
Date: September 2020
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. |
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