How to Avoid and Recover from Remote Access Scams
Also Known As Remote Access Scams
Remote access scams try to convince you that you have a computer or internet problem and that you need to buy new software to fix the problem.
Normally, most people would never let a stranger use their computer, as it would be easy for that stranger to steal your private files, your money, or your identity.
However, remote access scams prey on peoples’ fear, or lack of technological understanding to impair their judgment, allowing these criminals to manipulate them and making them more likely to commit the grave error of giving a scammerScammer A Scammer or Fraudster is someone that engages in deception to obtain money or achieve another objective. They are criminals that attempt to deceive a victim into sending more or performing some other activity that benefits the scammer. access to their device.
Learning how to recognize these scams can help you avoid them, and if you’ve already fallen victim to one, there are ways to fix your computer and protect your data going forward.
To find out how you can protect yourself and mitigate the damage of remote access scams, read on.
Introduction
In a remote access scamScam A Scam is a confidence trick - a crime - is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust through deception. Scams or confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, or greed and exploiting that. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men' - criminals) at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". A scam is a crime even if no money was lost., a scammer attempts to persuade (manipulate) you into giving them remote control over your personal computer, which allows the scammer to do any number of things, including to defraud you of your money and stealing your private information.
Remote access scams are often related to tech support scams, (such as: Dell Computer or Apple tech support) and typically starts on the phone with either a cold call from a fake tech support specialist telling you your computer is infected with malwareMalware Short for "malicious software," this term means computer viruses and other types of programs that cybercriminals use to disrupt or access your computer, typically with the aim of gathering sensitive files and accounts. or a scary-looking pop-up ad that says there’s a problem with your computer and gives you a phone number to call for help.
These fraudsters may also try to convince you to give them remote access to your device by telling you they have money to give you that they can only deliver by connecting to your computer, as seen in the recent FTCFTC The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) U.S. antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC can also act as a clearinghouse for criminal reports sent to other agencies for investigation and prosecution. To learn more visit www.FTC.gov or to report fraud visit ReportFraud.FTC.gov refund scam that’s been making the rounds. Another very recent refund scam includes asking you to display your online bank account, and putting a fake deposit on your account statement. The scammers then lead you to believe that they made a typo on the fake refund issued and ask for a gift card as a refund to them.
Once the scammer convinces you to give them remote access, they’ll ask you to install a program such as ‘LogMeIn,’ ‘TeamViewer’ or ‘GoToAssist,’ which allows someone from another computer to operate your computer as if they were sitting right in front of it.
Normally, these programs are used for legitimate tech support and worker collaboration purposes, but they can also be used by fraudsters for criminalCriminal A criminal is any person who through a decision or act engages in a crime. This can be complicated, as many people break laws unknowingly, however, in our context, it is a person who makes a decision to engage in unlawful acts or to place themselves with others who do this. A criminal always has the ability to decide not to break the law, or if they initially engage in crime to stop doing it, but instead continues. purposes.
While the scammer is connected to your computer, they will basically try to defraud you. As part of this scam, the criminal will make it seem like your computer has a problem and that they’re fixing it, but really they’re just running programs (appsApps Applications or Apps An application (software), commonly referred to as an ‘app’ is a program on a computer, tablet, mobile phone or device. Apps are designed for specific tasks, including checking the weather, accessing the internet, looking at photos, playing media, mobile banking, etc. Many apps can access the internet if needed and can be downloaded (used) either for a price or for free. Apps are a major point of vulnerability on all devices. Some are designed to be malicious, such as logging keystrokes or activity, and others can even transport malware. Always be careful about any app you are thinking about installing.) that look very technical. Some examples include using the Command Prompt tool to generate ominous messages, or opening Temp files in Notepad and claiming that the random characters that show up are a sign of corruption.
They will then offer to fix the problem for a fee of a few hundred dollars, pretend to repair your computer, and take your money, possibly using any credit card or bank details you give them to make additional fraudulent charges in the future.
While a scammer has remote access to your computer, it’s highly likely that they will install spywareSpyware A type of malware installed on computers or cellphones to track your actions and/or collect information without your knowledge. Some spyware can change computer settings for pharming redirection. or malware on your device, as well. This can be even worse than just scamming you out of money, as undetected malware can allow hackers to steal your identity, gain direct access to your banking accounts, including your passwords and financial information, over and over again, even if you get new passwords and account numbers they may still be able to see them.
How This Scam Works
Typically the scammer will phone you and pretend to be a staff member from a large telecommunications or computer company, such as Apple or Microsoft. Alternatively, they may claim to be from technical support from your internet service provider.
They will tell you that your computer has been sending error messages or that it has a virusVirus A computer program that can replicate itself and spread from computer to computer or file to file. It comes to life only when you take a specific action, such as running a particular program.. They may mention problems with your internet connection or your phone line and say this has affected your computer’s recent performance. They may claim that your broadband connection has been hacked.
The caller will request remote access to your computer to ‘find out what the problem is’.
The scammer may try to talk you into buying unnecessary software or a service to ‘fix’ the computer, or they may ask you for your personal details and your bank or credit card details.
The scammer may initially sound professional and knowledgeable—however, they will be very persistent and may become abusive if you don’t do what they ask.
Warning Signs
- You receive a phone call out of the blue and the caller claims to be from a large telecommunication or computer company, or a technical support service provider.
- They tell you that your computer is experiencing technical problems and they need remote access to sort out the problem.
- They ask you to buy software or sign up to a service to fix the computer.
- They ask for your personal details and your bank or credit card details.
- The caller is very persistent and may become abusive.
Understand These Scams
Steering clear of remote access scams becomes pretty simple once you realize a few key facts.
- First, tech support specialists from companies and government departments never cold-call people, so if you receive a call purporting to be from some kind of computer tech support, it is almost definitely a scam.
- Even if your caller ID says the call is coming from a source you recognize, it’s easy for scammers to spoof their calls to falsify their location.
- Legitimate computer companies don’t put their phone numbers on security warnings and advise people to call them, preferring instead to use diagnostic and repair programs as a first line of defense.
- If you see a pop-up or virus warning on your computer advising you to call a number, it’s a scam.
- Some of these pop-upsPop-ups Pop-up ads (also known as pop-ups) - Unsolicited advertising that appears as a "pop-up" window on a computer screen. Sometimes these can be created to look like a financial institution's request for personal information. have code that make them hard to close, so if a pop-up is staying stubbornly open, you can force your Internet browser to close by hitting Ctrl + Alt + Delete and opening the Task Manager if you’re using Windows, or Command + Option + Escape if you’re on a Mac. Or just turn the computer off.
- Finally, and most importantly, never give remote access to anyone you don’t know, as doing so lets them bypass a great deal of your cybersecurity and access anything on your device.
Protect yourself
- Never give an unsolicited caller remote access to your computer.
- Never give your personal, credit card or online account details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source.
- If you receive a phone call out of the blue about your computer and remote access is requested – hang up – even if they mention a well-known company such as AT&T, Verizon, Telstra, TMobile, Apple, Microsoft, etc. These companies do not request credit card details over the phone to fix computer or telephone problems.
- Remember that you can still receive scam calls even if you have a private number or have listed your number on the Do Not Call Register. Scammers can obtain your number easily from commercial lists.
- Make sure your computer is protected with regularly updated anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and a good firewall. Research first and only purchase software from a source that you know and trust. We recommend Malwarebytes or Bitdefender – you can find them from Google.
- If you have fallen victim to a scam or you receive a lot of unsolicited emails and phone calls consider changing your email address and phone numbers.
What To Do If You’ve Been Scammed
If you’ve already been victimized by a remote access scam, there are still ways you can recover from it.
Contact the financial institution associated with any payment method you gave the scammer, such as your credit card issuer or bank, and tell them about the fraudFraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain (money or other assets), or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensation) or criminal law (e.g., a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by governmental authorities), or it may cause no loss of money, property, or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong. The purpose of fraud may be monetary gain or other benefits, for example by obtaining a passport, travel document, or driver's license, or mortgage fraud, where the perpetrator may attempt to qualify for a mortgage by way of false statements. A fraud can also be a hoax, which is a distinct concept that involves deliberate deception without the intention of gain or of materially damaging or depriving a victim..
While it may be difficult to recover funds taken directly from your bank account, it’s often quite easy to dispute credit card charges related to fraud, and credit cards generally have better security features for customers. You should also file a complaint with the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/?orgcode=SCARS, as your report will help them track down and build a case against the scammers.
Fixing any damage done to your computer can be more difficult, as digital threats are constantly evolving to escape detection. The safest approach is to wipe your hard drive and do a clean installation of your operating system, but this is a drastic and time-consuming measure – we recommend taking your computer to a local computer repair center (such as BestBuy stores).
If you have a Windows computer, an easier but still effective option is to use the System Restore feature to roll back your computer to a point before the scam, which can undo malware that the scammer installed. If that isn’t an option for you, at the very least you can install and run a legitimate malware cleaning program on your computer, such as Malwarebytes or Bitdefender (never use Kaspersky which is a Russian made product), and hope it can get rid of the malware. While whichever solution you chose is working, you may also want to disconnect your computer from the Internet in case the scammer left a remote access program to let them reconnect to your system.
After your computer is clean, you should reset all of your passwords, and possibly install some kind of ad blockingBlocking Blocking is a technical action usually on social media or messaging platforms that restricts or bans another profile from seeing or communicating with your profile. To block someone on social media, you can usually go to their profile and select it from a list of options - often labeled or identified with three dots ••• software to keep from getting any more scam pop-ups.
Remote access scams can seem devastating, but if you know what to do and act fast, they aren’t so difficult to manage.
Essential Tools For Every Scam SurvivorSurvivor A Scam Survivor is a victim who has been able to fully accept the reality of their situation. That they were the victim of a crime and are not to blame. They are working on their emotional recovery and reduction of any trauma either on their own, through a qualified support organization, or through counseling or therapy. And has done their duty and reported the crime to their local police, national police, and on Anyscam.com From SCARS Publishing
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SCARS GREEN BOOK
Self-Help Self-Paced Recovery Program Guide
LEARN HOW TO RECOVER ON YOUR OWN
This program is designed to help scam victims struggling to recover on their own and for those who want to understand the overall process. You can be using other resources, such as traumaTrauma Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a dangerous world. Psychological trauma can leave you struggling with upsetting emotions, memories, and anxiety that won’t go away. It can also leave you feeling numb, disconnected, and unable to trust other people. Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety or other emotional shocks, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and isolated can result in trauma, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm. It’s not the objective circumstances that determine whether an event is traumatic, but your subjective emotional experience of the event. The more frightened and helpless you feel, the more likely you are to be traumatized. Trauma requires treatment, either through counseling or therapy or through trauma-oriented support programs, such as those offered by SCARS. counselingCounseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. A mental health counselor (MHC), or counselor, is a person who works with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health. Such persons may help individuals deal with issues associated with addiction and substance abuse; family, parenting, and marital problems; stress management; self-esteem; and aging. They may also work with "Social Workers", "Psychiatrists", and "Psychologists". SCARS does not provide mental health counseling. or therapy, qualified support groupsSupport Groups In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic, such as romance scams. Members with the same issues can come together for sharing coping strategies, to feel more empowered and for a sense of community. The help may take the form of providing and evaluating relevant information, relating personal experiences, listening to and accepting others' experiences, providing sympathetic understanding and establishing social networks. A support group may also work to inform the public or engage in advocacy. They can be supervised or not. SCARS support groups are moderated by the SCARS Team and or volunteers., or completely independent – on your own!
The SCARS Steps program is a complete program and is provided for the purpose of helping scam victims to overcome this experience. Throughout this SCARS Steps Program, we speak about issues and challenges that a victim may have and help guide them through their recovery. But each person is different and it is important to understand your own reasons for being vulnerable to being scammed.
After the trauma of being scammed, you need to take steps to recover and move on. This may be an alternative to counseling in the short term, but we still encourage you to seek out professional help & support. Throughout this SCARS Steps Program, we speak about issues, challenges, defects, or problems that a victim may have in a generalized way.
The SCARS GREEN BOOK will help you recover from your scam offline and it will always be there when you need it!
SCARS SLATE BOOK – Let Us Explain What Happened!
A Guide For Families & Friends Of Scam Victims
HOW TO HELP ROMANCE SCAM VICTIMS FOR FAMILIES & FRIENDS OF SCAM VICTIMS
This SCARS Publishing book represents a complete guide to help the families and friends understand how these scams work and how to help the victim.
The SCARS Slate Book should be purchased by family and friends to better understand what happened to the victim and the traumatic impact on them. But it can also be shared by the victim so that they do not have to explain to family and friends about the scam. This publication is to help others to help Scam Victims to make it through this traumatic experience and recover.
Each person is different and it is important to understand how relationship scamsRelationship Scam A Relationship Scam is a one-to-one criminal act that involves a trust relationship and uses deception & manipulation to get a victim to give to the criminal something of value, such as money! Click here to learn more: What Is A Relationship Scam? work and why people are vulnerable; to being scammed, how they were lured in, then groomed and manipulated. This understanding is essential in helping them through the process of ending the scam and then on to recovery. The SCARS Slate Book will provide the information necessary to help support a victim through this process.
SCARS RED BOOK
Your Personal Scam Evidence & Crime Record Organizer
ORGANIZE YOUR INFORMATION TO MAKE THE REPORTING PROCESS SIMPLE!
Helps you get and stay organized. This publication is to help Scam Victims organize their crime information. Complete this information before reporting to the police then bring this book with you
Before or after reporting to the police the RED BOOK gives you a dedicated tool to record all the essential facts of this crime. The Victim, the Scammers, the Money, and your Police interactions. Everything that really matters can be easily recorded for your immediate use and for the future!
As we have seen, money recovery/repayment programs can become available years after the scam ends and you need to keep all the details of this crime in case it is needed. We have also seen scammers being extradited to the U.S. and other countries, this will help in the event you testify or give statements, Additionally, this helps you have your information ready to qualify for victims’ benefits, compensation, or aid.
The Official SCARS RED BOOK is your way of recording all the important facts of this crime so that you do not lose essential information, Complete the RED BOOK then put it away with the confidence that you will have it if or when it is needed.
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By the Society of Citizens Against Relationship ScamsSCARS SCARS - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. A government registered crime victims' assistance & crime prevention nonprofit organization based in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. SCARS supports the victims of scams worldwide and through its partners in more than 60 countries around the world. Incorporated in 2015, its team has 30 years of continuous experience educating and supporting scam victims. Visit www.AgainstScams.org to learn more about SCARS. Inc.
A Worldwide Crime Victims Assistance & Crime Prevention Nonprofit Organization Headquartered In Miami Florida USA & Monterrey NL Mexico, with Partners In More Than 60 Countries
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