Tech Support Fraud

Tech support fraud is a huge business for scam artists now a days. Literally every facet of the industry is infected with con artists trying to fraud you out of your money. One thing criminals like to do, and its something that has been reported several times, is steal your information when its in the shop awaiting repairs. A lot of Computer repair shop owners are not to be trusted, and its important to find a reputable one. When you turn your computer into their hands for probably what is an overpriced fee ( they are scam artists ) they will take your computer to the back and scavenge any personal data they can find. Credit card numbers, tax information, a lot of sensitive data can be found on your computer, and stolen by these thieves. However, there is yet another scam that is being used in the Tech Support field. If you ever get a call from Microsoft declaring that they will fix a mysterious problem on your computer for free, and install an antivirus program for a small fee. Hang up the phone. There have been reports of users watching helplessly as hackers use the program that they install to hijack your computer and steal your sensitive information before you can even get your wits about you and pull the plug. Often users are guided to a website that gives them false information to "prove" that their computer has a virus that needs immediate removal. Microsoft reports that the average consumer loses 875$ to this scam and a couple of thousand in repair fees. The FTC however has received 40,000 complaints about the tech call scam. Paypal and others have been cracking down on the fraudsters, as well as shutting down their accounts. Just remember that legitimate companies will not call you and tell you need tech support. They are not monitoring your computer and therefore do not know if your computer needs it. Also when paying over the phone use a credit card or debit card, this makes iot easier to dispute financial charges made to your account.