#Cybercrime - five tech support scam mitigation tips

Also known as remote access scams, the criminal aims to convince their potential target that their computer has malware. Once they gain traciton with this story, the criminal then tells the target that they need to download remote access software so the computer can be fixed. These scams may be via cold calling, web site pop-ups or even via scam emails.

1.  Remember that telecommunications and computer companies do not proactively call people unsolicited to tell them there is malware on their computers.

2.  Do not give remote access of your computer to anyone unless you can confirm the request is legitimate and from a genuine technical support company that you do business with.

3.    Do not believe pop-ups that state your computer has malware and suggest you call a number or download and run software to repair it.

4. If you have already been scammed delete any software they asked you to install, change your passwords, call your financial institutions to cancel any credit card that may have been provided to the scammer and to attempt to claim back any money that has been scammed.

5. Share Tech Support scam information with others.

These points and more are included in Unmasking the Hacker.

Protect yourself from #cybercrime - seasonal scams

Any significant retail event or seasonal holiday makes for great hashtagcybercrime attempts!

While people are looking forward to seasonal holidays, buying gifts and getting bagains, criminals are looking forward to exploit them.

Looking for online bargains? Please check the spelling of the link you are on as criminals buy and register web domains with common typos of well known stores. Just to trick shoppers and steal their PII and money.

So many successful seasonal sales on legitimate websites, leads to criminals creating faked retailer pages to trick shoppers into sharing their money and details with them. Criminals are known to buy website domain names that are typos of legitimate sites and also to buy certificates to ensure the website is ‘HTTPS’ making it appear legitimate. For example, say that a major retailer has a site called ‘https happysales com’, a criminal may purchase a site with security certification and words that look similar, ‘https happysalles com’. They may even send spam emails spoofing well known retailers and direct people to their site where they phish for credit card details and personal information.

When taking advantage of seasonal sales and bargains don't let criminals take advantage of you!

• Check website addresses before you enter any details.
• Only enter financial information on secured connections and also do not enter any personal or financial detail while on free WiFi.
• Do not provide more information than needed. Do they really need your fill birth date to sell you a magazine subscription?
• Be wary of discounts that sound too good to be true – because they probably are!