Scammers Targeting Smartphones and Tablets

As technology is getting smarter, it seems that viruses are too.  In a new scam, con artists claiming to be technical specialists are calling people to tell them their security has been compromised and offering to fix the problem for a fee. They will then ask for your credit card information and charge you a substantial fee to install their “anti-virus software”. What they are actually getting you to install is a virus that will allow them remote access to your phone or device, which means they can then access anything on it that doesn’t require a password every time you open it.

While you may have heard warnings about this kind of thing before, the scammers are getting smarter and more practiced at their abilities to convince you. They will claim to be from a trustworthy company such as Microsoft or Telstra and will use technical jargon to sound legitimate. They are very well trained in sounding professional to gain people’s trust.

How to Avoid Being Caught

Remember that although these scammers sound very convincing, no company’s tech support team would contact you without you having contacted them first. It is not the job of your phone provider to keep track of your security. That is up to you.

Remember that these people are highly trained at speaking so the best thing to do is hang up quickly and not allow them to talk you into it.

To avoid scams like this altogether, be careful of who you give your number to in the first place. Wherever possible, avoid giving your number to anyone and provide just email addresses instead.

Even if you hang up on the scammers the first time they call, they may continue trying to harass you so call your service provider and get the number blocked.

If Your Phone or Device Has Been Compromised

If you think your phone or device really has been compromised, do not trust these callers to help you because their software is fake. Take it to a reputable technician instead or give Wrighton Computers a call.

If you think you may have provided your account details to a scammer accidentally, contact your bank as soon as possible to get the charge reversed.

Finally, if you think you have been contacted by a scammer, you can report it to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission at this address:https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/694011.