Tag: Scam

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Business

IT Support Scams are Everywhere. Here’s What You Should Know

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Chances are you’ve encountered a couple of tech support scams in your days. These people frequently dial random numbers in an attempt to get the person on the end of the phone long enough to trust them with remoting into the device. These kinds of scams are designed to be as vague as possible, and since most people have computers that are at least a couple years old, they tend to experience some kind of sluggishness that makes them believe that something is genuinely wrong. This can turn out to be a grave mistake.

Other scammers are starting to use more sophisticated measures, and it’s all thanks to their possession of more specific information about the users. This could include the computer’s name, model number, and serial number, as well as any other contact information about the device’s owner, including their telephone number, email address, and customer number.

These scams are growing in number and continue to target those who have purchased devices from large, reputable companies who produce some of the most popular solutions on the market. Companies like Lenovo, Microsoft, Apple, Dell, and many more have all had to deal with support scammers making a mockery of their business practices. It only makes sense that these scams will continue to grow in number as time goes on.

What Can You Do?
It doesn’t matter how proactive your IT support is. It’s unlikely that any manufacturer would ever call you for any reason regarding an issue with your computer. The only way (though unlikely) this would happen is if you’ve subscribed for a similar service of your own free will. Even then, there is a very involved authorization process attached to this support. Imagine if every single manufacturer called every single buyer of their devices–it’s just not feasible under normal circumstances.

If you receive a call like this, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. If you share a network with other users, this is even more important; as, if you give an unauthorized entity access to a specific device, it could have far-reaching repercussions for the whole network. Even though IT support scams are prevalent throughout the industry, you still want to make sure that you’re not falling for them.

COMPANYNAME can help your business stay ahead of the game in terms of security and best practices. To learn more, reach out to us at PHONENUMBER.

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Casserly Consulting Blog

“It Redirected Where?” — A Case Study in Security Precautions

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Imagine what it would be like to discover that your website was suddenly redirecting to content that was decidedly more… adult... than what should be representing your business. For a company in Phoenix, Arizona, this was the unfortunate reality after they had let their IT administrator go.

The administrator, Tavis Tso, created a web in which he attempted to snare a client in an extortion scam. After lying to the client, claiming that he didn’t have their credentials to login to their GoDaddy domain registrar account, Tso changed the credentials to the GoDaddy accounts and created a separate Microsoft account that gave him considerable power over his target. His first steps were to block employees from accessing their email accounts and to redirect the company’s home page to a blank webpage. Tso then demanded $10,000 from the company to fix the problem that he had caused.

The company did not comply with his demands.

Once it was clear that the company wasn’t going to cooperate with Tso, the cybercriminal upped the ante. Rather than just redirecting the company’s home page to a blank site, Tso redirected all of the website’s traffic to a pornographic website. This redirect took several days to resolve.

Tso was ultimately sentenced to four years of probation, in addition to $9,145 as restitution for a count of wire fraud. While it is nice that a cybercriminal has been brought to justice, the damage done will be hard to undo, as he had considerable access to his company’s systems.

Would your business be able to recover from an incident like this? A good first step is to ensure your recovery is to reconsider the permissions of the users on your network–and more importantly, the permissions of former users. There is no reason to grant access to your IT where it is not needed, and there is no reason to keep an IT resource on your system once they are no longer part of your organization.

COMPANYNAME can help you to make these changes, as well as many others that will benefit your IT and your network security. Reach out to us at PHONENUMBER to start a discussion.

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Best Practices

Tip of the Week: 6 Tips to Avoid Getting Scammed This Holiday Season

b2ap3_thumbnail_are_you_being_scammed_400.jpg The ingenuity of criminals knows no bounds, especially when it comes to the holidays. You’d think that scammers would be merciful during this time of peace on Earth and goodwill to man. Nope. This is when they step up their scamming efforts, which means you need to be ever vigilant.

Here are six scams to be mindful of this holiday season.

Be Careful Where You Donate
The holidays are a great time to make end-of-the-year donations that you can deduct from your taxes. Unfortunately, scammers know how to play on people’s heartstrings and they’ll set up fake charities with slick online websites in order to scam you out of money that should be going to help others.

To make sure you’re giving to a legitimate charity, AARP recommends, “Before donating to a charity, make sure it is registered with the Secretary of State and ask how much of the money goes to the charitable fundraiser and how much goes to the charitable purpose.”

Be Wary of Fake Gift Cards
Often used as a gift for the person who “has everything” or as a small supplement to be given besides a larger gift, gift cards are a very popular gift to give. However, gift cards are also a vehicle for scammers to use. For example, how often do you see great deals on gift cards on online auction sites? As it turns out, those “great deals” are very likely for stolen, worthless cards.

The easiest way to avoid this sort of scam is to only purchase gift cards from a trusted, licensed merchant. Also, if you’re purchasing the card at the store it’s for, ask the cashier to check the balance of the card so you don’t get scammed into buying a bogus card placed on the rack by the thief.

Be Sure to Track Your Packages
The holidays are crunch time for parcel delivery services. For thieves that may lack hacking and technical skills, simply walking up to a front porch and stealing a package is an easy way to make some fast cash. They may even have zero use for what’s in the box, but that won’t keep them from walking off with your goods, just in case there’s a chance that it contains an item of value.

To prevent this risk, when you order a package make sure that your signature is required in order to receive it. This will prevent the package from being left on your steps for a thief to easily grab. Also, remember that you can have the package delivered to your work address if nobody will be at your house to sign off for your package.

Watch for Credit Card Skimmers
Some thieves even have the know-how to steal data from your credit card using skimming devices at ATMs and other POS devices. Therefore, it’s preferable to shop with a credit card over a debit card, and there’s a lot to be said for cash being a secure way to pay for things. Also, look closely at the device before scanning your card. If it looks like it’s been tampered with, then you’ll want to alert store management.

Don’t Fall for Bogus Deals
Finally, it never hurts to rely on some relatively timeless shopping advice: if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Before completing any purchase that seems like the deal of a lifetime, make sure you at least familiarize yourself with all of the terms and consider the ones that probably aren’t mentioned. No deal is worth risking your financial future for.

Be Safe Online
Finally, there are plenty of scams to be found online. The best way to avoid getting taken by an online Grinch is to follow best security practices. These include:

  • Before submitting any sensitive information, look for the padlock icon in the address bar, along with HTTPS at the beginning of the URL.
  • Only shop on websites that have a good reputation.
  • Avoid using public Wi-Fi when shopping online.
  • Avoid using your debit card online. Instead, use credit cards and gift cards.
  • Be skeptical of unsolicited emails in your inbox, especially when it comes to fake invoices and bogus shipping orders.

By avoiding these six scams you can shop with confidence this holiday season. It’s also important to keep in mind that these scams are utilized by thieves all year round, so you’ll want to always be looking out for them.

Have you fallen for any of these scams or encountered any of them while shopping? If so, share with us your scam story in the comments.