Lawrence Hickman is the owner of Onsite Computer Services in Cobourg and he’s sounding the alarm again about recent computer scams he’s seen in Northumberland.
Computer related fraud is becoming very sophisticated. Not surprising considering it’s become a billion dollar industry employing thousands of people in overseas call centres dedicated to separating you from your money.
Phase two in this scenario involves the scammer posing as a bank representative and with just a few details, convincing victims that they are working on their behalf while asking for more information like social insurance numbers, bank account details and more.
In many cases, scammers are not just looking for a quick sum of money to pay for a computer that is ‘frozen’ or to remove ‘porn’ although those scams are still popular.
Hickman explains.
Today’s fraudsters have the time and resources to play the long game, monitoring your emails, getting to know your habits and who they can contact (on your behalf) to ask for money.
One popular scam Hickman sees starts when you attempt to log in to your mail account online, like Google mail. The username and password needs to be manually inputted when normally they just auto-populate. This is a red flag according to Hickman who says a quick look at the URL can often help you avoid falling prey to scammers. The sites look identical to a legitimate g-mail login screen, but if the domain name (ie: mail.google.com/) doesn’t look right, don’t enter your credentials. This method has been used to gain access to email accounts and track a victims writing style, travel plans and more.
Hickman says if you ever have a question or concern about your computer you’re invited to call him for a free consultation, but often the damage is done before users even realize there’s an issue.
So how can you arm yourself against computer scams. Hickman says it’s getting harder and harder and his level of frustration continues to grow as scammers target those with the least computer savvy and perhaps the most available cash – our seniors. For Hickman, it’s particularly heartbreaking to see these vulnerable and trusting people continue to fall victim to predators.
Hickman agrees that the best defense is to educate yourself and your loved ones, friends and neighbours about the latest scams. One great resource is ‘The Little Black Book of Scams‘ which is available online in PDF version for free from the government of Canada.
Hickman is also looking into a community driven Facebook group to share the latest scams he comes across, but that’s a future endeavour that will need community support to get started and keep it up to date. If anyone’s interested in helping get a group started, you can reach out to Hickman at his office.
If you think you’ve been a victim of a computer, or any type of scam, reach out to local police services and you can also contact Hickman in-person at Online Computer Services, 409 Ontario Street in Cobourg, via email at onsite@gttr.ca or by phone at 905-372-1577.
(Written by: Joseph Goden)
