{"id":3081,"date":"2025-04-30T06:45:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T13:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/?p=3081"},"modified":"2025-04-30T07:36:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T14:36:39","slug":"scam-examples-you-can-avoid-scams-by-following-this-simple-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/scam-examples-you-can-avoid-scams-by-following-this-simple-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"Spend a few minutes to check out these scams so that you don&#8217;t become a victim"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/scam-examples-you-can-avoid-scams-by-following-this-simple-advice\/print\/\" title=\"Print This Article\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"WP-PrintIcon\" src=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-print\/images\/printer_famfamfam.gif\" alt=\"Print This Article\" title=\"Print This Article\" style=\"border: 0px;\" \/><\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/scam-examples-you-can-avoid-scams-by-following-this-simple-advice\/print\/\" title=\"Print This Article\" rel=\"nofollow\">Print This Article<\/a> <em>Published 5\/5\/21. Updated April 2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>In summary&#8230;<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>NEVER respond or react hastily to unexpected messages: If you get a pop-up message, email, phone call, text message, or any other urgent message about a virus\/security problem, account problem, or ask you to call about an unexpected charge &#8211; DO NOT click on any links or call a phone number provided in the message. <mark style=\"background-color:#fcb900\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Always initially assume it&#8217;s a scam until proven otherwise<\/mark>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Refer to links in the article below about how to close out of fake warning messages that <em>appear<\/em> to lock your computer or device.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scammers often PRETEND to be from a business, organization, or financial institution or even a person that you know.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scammers advertise on search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing) so that people looking for help with a product or service will call them instead of a real support number listed on an official company website.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Legitimate companies will never ask for remote access\/control of your computer or smartphone, unless you initiate the call to a number listed on the official company website. If the person with a legitimate company accessing your computer asks you to log into your account to &#8220;fix&#8221; or &#8220;help&#8221; with a problem, asks for money, money transfer, cryptocurrency or gift cards, immediately turn off your computer and end the call. Then call your trusted <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/CTreno.com\/contact\" target=\"_blank\">computer tech<\/a>, relative or close friend to help validate the communication you just had. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/keyboard-S-C-A-M.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"425\" height=\"283\" src=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/keyboard-S-C-A-M.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1811\" style=\"width:342px;height:228px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/keyboard-S-C-A-M.jpg 425w, https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/keyboard-S-C-A-M-150x99.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Scammers are becoming increasingly clever.&nbsp;<strong>Every month we hear from clients who have been scammed<\/strong>&nbsp;by letting someone take control of their computer and coerce them into paying for support for non-existent computer or account-related problems. With a little bit of knowledge of how these scams work, you won&#8217;t become a victim yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scams typically start with a website pop-up, email, phone call or text message from a well-known company such as Amazon, Windows\/Microsoft, Apple, or Netflix. You are notified about a <strong>large purchase<\/strong> that has been or will be charged to your account &#8211; or <strong>there&#8217;s a problem with your account or device\/computer<\/strong>. You&#8217;re told to call, click a link or talk to a fraud\/account representative to confirm the purchase or account information. No matter how legitimate it sounds &#8211; <strong>It&#8217;s a scam!<\/strong> Read on about some of the most common scams we&#8217;ve encountered recently:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Someone just charged an item to your Amazon account. I&#8217;m calling to confirm the purchase or refund your money.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;This is the FBI and we&#8217;ve detected pornographic images on your computer. You must pay a fine right away!&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;This is your friend Bob. Can you please buy a gift card for me so I can give to my niece &#8211; I&#8217;ll pay you back.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Grandma, this is your grandson &#8211; I&#8217;m in trouble and you need to bail me out. Please don&#8217;t tell mom!&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Your credit card number has expired. I&#8217;m calling to get your new number or your service will be cancelled right away!&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;I&#8217;ve hacked into your email account &#8211; I can prove it because your password is xxxxxx. I&#8217;ve got embarrassing pictures of you that I captured with your webcam. If you don&#8217;t pay up, I&#8217;ll release the the pictures to all of your contacts.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Your computer protection has expired. If you don&#8217;t call right away we&#8217;re charging $399 to your account to renew the protection.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Your Cloud subscription has expired or run out of space. Reply or click to renew or update you payment information.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Failure to pay your bridge toll in this message will result in fines or jail time&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;The 50% discount on your Internet Service is about to expire. Call right away to renew.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>Ignore the pop-up, email, call or SMS.<\/strong>&nbsp;If you answer an unexpected phone call, don&#8217;t answer or engage with the scammer &#8211; hang up. Most likely there is no problem at all. Unfortunately&nbsp;<strong>you can&#8217;t trust unknown or unsolicited callers to be who they say they are<\/strong>, nor can you trust the name or number on Caller ID &#8211; scammers frequently used forged numbers. <mark style=\"background-color:#fcb900\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><strong>NEVER<\/strong> <strong>allow someone you don&#8217;t know<\/strong> coerce you into letting them view your computer screen or allow remote access.<\/mark> You wouldn&#8217;t allow someone knocking on your door to come in &#8211; the same should be true for an unsolicited phone call or message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If in doubt, log into your account normally (not via a link in an email or telephone number provided in a recording) to check for any unrecognized activity. Or you can call the company using the phone number listed on their official website, or printed on a card you have from the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve already gone too far and realize that you&#8217;ve engaged in a conversation with <strong>a scammer<\/strong> &#8211; below are some examples of how you can quickly get out of the situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;My attorney\/caregiver handles all of my affairs. Contact him\/her.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;Send me an official correspondence in the mail &#8211; you should already have my mailing address.&#8221; <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>or simply, JUST HANG UP and don&#8217;t answer the phone if they call back. It&#8217;s OK to be rude to a scammer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Often times scammers <strong>tell you that you must act fast &#8211; so that you don&#8217;t have time<\/strong> to think about it, contact a trusted tech-savvy friend, family member or&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/ctreno.com\/contact\" target=\"_blank\">computer technician<\/a>. Stick to your better judgement, remain in control of the conversation &#8211; or just hang up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve already been scammed, <a href=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/what-to-do-after-someone-calls-you-claiming-to-be-from-a-well-known-company-and-youve-given-them-remote-access-your-computer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contact us for a thorough computer security check<\/a> so that we can determine when it&#8217;s safe to use your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/can-you-spot-a-scam-take-the-quiz\/\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/can-you-spot-a-phish-check-out-these-phishing-and-fake-email-examples\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Can you spot a \u201cphish\u201d? Check out these phishing and fake email examples<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/learn-how-to-spot-scams-that-pop-up-on-your-screen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn how to spot scams that pop-up on your screen \u2013 and how to close your browser<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/how-to-block-browser-notification-pop-ups\/\">How to block browser notification pop-ups<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/youtube.ctreno.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Check out our YouTube videos playlist for information about scams<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/listen-to-scam-calls-so-you-dont-fall-victim\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Listen to these recordings so you can recognize scam calls and messages<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/photos.app.goo.gl\/1VhgHcJwxF3Bqmzs8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Computer Techs Phishing &amp; Scam Examples photo album<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/consumer.ftc.gov\/scams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Federal Trade Commission (FTC) information about scams<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/scam-examples-you-can-avoid-scams-by-following-this-simple-advice\/print\/\" title=\"Print This Article\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"WP-PrintIcon\" src=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-print\/images\/printer_famfamfam.gif\" alt=\"Print This Article\" title=\"Print This Article\" style=\"border: 0px;\" \/><\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/scam-examples-you-can-avoid-scams-by-following-this-simple-advice\/print\/\" title=\"Print This Article\" rel=\"nofollow\">Print This Article<\/a>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Published 5\/5\/21. Updated April 2025 In summary&#8230; Scammers are becoming increasingly clever.&nbsp;Every month we hear from clients who have been scammed&nbsp;by letting someone take control of their computer and coerce them into paying for support for non-existent computer or account-related problems. With a little bit of knowledge of how these scams work, you won&#8217;t become [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,13,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-passwords","category-scams","category-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3081"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4099,"href":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3081\/revisions\/4099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/computertechsreno.com\/tips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}