Yesterday I was the target of a new telephone scam and wanted to alert you to avoid it. Although I am in Pacific Palisades, this is apparently an international scam.
It starts with a telephone call based on supposed problems with your computer and ends up with you parting with money and possibly having your computer locked up. The caller tries to scare you into giving them control of your computer by having you look up “the unusually large number of alleged error messages” on your computer. (There will actually be a large number of recorded errors shown, some even “Critical,” but it turns out that this is not unusual. Every little hiccup that your computer has ever had creates an error in these logs.)
The caller does a masterful job of presenting themselves as legitimate, even claiming a connection with Microsoft and providing their business name (this one called itself GigHub) and the individual’s name and callback number, then seeks to take control of your computer using a readily available software product called TeamViewer. Stop! Do not go further.
Although TeamViewer is real, the caller is not. When pressed for company details, the caller began to balk. I Googled the alleged company name; it did not appear anywhere. I called my local IT guy (Ramis Sadrieh www.technologyforyou.com) who told me to stop the call immediately and warned me about this scam.
I was later contacted by TeamViewer through its follow-up email asking how I liked their product. I explained my experience and they sent me a detailed warning and advice.
El Medio Bluffs resident
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