- Scammers use email (spam), web pages, texts and phone calls
- Never trust anything that anyone sends or tells you over the phone
- Contact the company direct using contact details “not from the potential scammer”
- Login direct to the service in question – often that is how the likes of “Amazon/Ebay for example” will let you know of any issues
- Crypto virus’s
- Caught by clicking on hacker’s website links or from an email/spam
- They encrypt vital files or the whole PC
- NEVER pay the ransom – they want your credit card details
- Backup to cloud and/or hard drive
- Ebay – Selling
- Never just ship goods to an address “sent by Ebay email” often these can be counterfeit
- Login to PayPal – confirm payment and ship goods to the address listed by the client account.
- Never ship without payment first arriving
- Malware
- Sinister malware may well allow a hacker to see what you are typing or remote control to your unattended PC
- Some will divert your searches to their websites
- Most malware tracks what you do, slows down your PC and causes pop ups
- Fighting Scams/Cons/Spam
- Backup all data often, both to drive and cloud
- Buy a decent security package for all your hardware, make sure it updates and keep it renewed.
- Keep all your software up-to-date, apply all the Microsoft and Apple updates
- Sign up to a spam killing service
- Computer usage policy for work
- Website blocking (free for home use)
- Strong passwords, different ones for each service
