I have mentioned online frauds like this several times in other posts.
Never, I mean NEVER fall victim to scammers that call you on the phone and say your computer is infected, or your Microsoft license needs to be renewed. If your screen gets a bogus pop up saying you are infected, simply reboot your computer to eliminate the warning. And never let anyone remote into your computer saying they will do a scan to fix your computer. Except, of course, a professional like myself. I can remove viruses and tune up your computer from a remote location. I have provided this service over 10 years and will repair your computer for a fraction of the cost of these fraudulent support scammers.
This post is about one of the latest scams to take your money. It is called the fake BSOD or Blue Screen of Death virus.
BSOD is a term from the early days of MS Windows. The BSOD was a system crash that led to a blue error screen telling you to shut down. However, this new support fraud instructs you to not shut down, else your data will be compromised, deleted or otherwise ruined.
Out of desperation, many people panic and forget to call me. They dial the displayed toll-free number (toll free telephone? in 2017! Ridiculous) A “technician” answers and instructs you your computer has been infected with malware. They tell you to shut the computer off and contact a certified Microsoft technician for repair. It is explained it would take a week to fix and cost roughly $350. Of course this inconvenience is a lot to ask so, of course, the fake technician states “No problem, we can repair your machine remotely for $250. After the fee is paid ( which compromises your credit or bank card) time passes while it appears the computer is being fixed. In addition to taking money from you, the computer was never infected and the “technician” most likely installed a subpar antivirus program that will allow them to charge you a yearly fee. I had one customer tell me she asked the alleged technician if she was being scammed. The technician replied “No, but you are asking all the right questions” What an honest sounding company, they even said it was not a scam. If it was a scam they would tell you, right? Phony psychological comfort like this puts someone at ease and logic and sensibility get buried.
Remember: No one that ever contacts you via phone or email and says your infected can ever know if you are indeed infected. They are simply gambling with cold calling until they find an uneducated and trusting person. In addition, if you ever get a call saying your MS Windows license is up and you need to renew – this is never true. If they say they are from Microsoft and will clean your computer -this is never true. Microsoft is a software company and they do not clean infected computers. Only third party technicians like myself are qualified to do this work.
If something like this happens to you, call me and I will show you how to eliminate this fake virus. I will charge $25, much less than the hundreds these fraudulent companies charge. Even if you do have an infected computer our charge is $45 to $65 for a remote cleaning. Charging over $200 for a virus removal is ridiculous.
REMEMBER:
Never allow ANYONE to remote into your computer unless you ABSOLUTELY know they are an honest company. Read their website information, Facebook page, and talk to people who have used their service. Online scammers are getting VERY sneaky in their approach to finding was of separating you from your hard earned money.
Also REMEMBER
- Never call the toll free number
- Do not click anywhere within the popup window
- Close the browser from Task Manager
- Reboot your computer
- If all fails call me!
Paul – Coast Computing 561.452.6132
7.18.2017
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