This is also a good time to run a credit report check. Where possible, activate multifactor authentication. In a systematic process, notify all financial, medical and personal contacts of the possible breach, and change IDs and passwords, including those for your computer, Wi-Fi router and email accounts. Assume the worst-case scenario: Your data is compromised. Take time to list as many details about the situation as you can, develop a narrative of the crime, and file a police report with either a state, county or local jurisdiction (remember, you are reporting a crime).Ĭontact a reputable computer service technician and explain the situation, asking them to run a security check for malware and suspicious software. There are numerous recommendations for anyone who believes he or she is a victim. →ģ) Downloading software provided by someone whose identity you cannot independently verify is risky and can compromise personal information, account IDs and passwords.Ĥ) Government agencies such as the IRS or Social Security do not partner with or interact with private sector companies when dealing with citizen issues.ĥ) Finally, government agencies and major corporations do not conduct business using crypto currency such as bitcoins. It was then that Bill and his wife began to talk about the situation and realized that they had been scammed. He began the transfer, but the ATM limited his transaction to $900.
The “Social Security” agent told Bill that he needed to protect himself from losses by withdrawing all the money from his bank account except for $100 and deposit the money in a secure bit coin account using a special ATM. Bill was in a condition con artists call “The Ether,” a heightened state of anxiety when emotion takes over while logic and reason are set aside. His computer had been hacked and frozen there was evidence of foreign involvement. Clearly, the situation sent Bill into panic mode. He was transferred to a “Social Security” agent. He was instructed to download a “virtual viewer” and run a “registry check,” generating a report showing a recent visit to a pornography website and some activity involving China.
Bill’s (not his real name) computer froze and a pop-up message from “Microsoft” told him that his computer was hacked and provided a phone number to call. That might be what saved a husband and wife from significant losses in a computer scam. While fraud fighters like to believe that our efforts save people from scams, sometimes avoiding fraud comes down to luck. Smart people are taken in by sophisticated criminals just ask Steven Spielberg, Sandy Koufax and Larry King, three of the 37,000 victims in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. It’s not based on intelligence or diligence. Avoiding scams can, at times, be difficult.
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