Everyone knows the stories. You get a called on your landline by someone pretending to work for Microsoft or Apple. They claim you have a problem with your computer and that they can help you. Currently, the first contact is also different: suddenly a virus message appears on your screen and your computer crashes. You are invited to call a 078 number where they pretend to be happy to help you and keep you on the (paying) line for a long time. This scammer leads you to believe that there is a security problem with your computer and proposes to secure your computer. He or she then asks you to take certain actions: start up the computer, go to a certain website or download an application. In this way, the scammers can access your computer. Their end goal is to steal money from your bank account. To solve the problem, you have to pay first.
How to react?
- Always distrust phone calls from companies that ask you to perform a number of actions on your computer.
- Microsoft will never make unsolicited contact you to report a problem.
- Do not allow someone you don't know to take over your computer.
- Do not make any payments, not even for a few euros, while a stranger has taken over your computer.
- Remove any applications or programs that you installed on your computer at the request of the scammer.
- Perform a full virus scan and remove any malware found.
- Change your passwords, if you've shared them.
- If your screen is blocked, you can close the browser via Ctrl-Shift-Esc and then End Task.
