Whenever someone you don’t know asks for remote access to your computer, a huge, noisy and very insistent alarm bell should immediately start clanging in your head. Because it’s probably a scam to get access to your personal files, credit card information and other information.
That’s the crux of a recent scam preying on victims’ who think they’re corresponding with a customer service person at Netflix, reports CBS News, one that the Better Business Bureau says cropped up recently.
“It combines a phishing scam with a tech support scam,” explains a computer expert with Malwarebytes.
He investigated the scam by setting up a computer with no personal information and recording the interaction on his screen.
Victims will get an email or a pop-up directing them to a fake Netflix log-in page that looks real but is just a front to get at the good stuff. From there, a notice informs the viewer that “We have temporarily suspended this account,” followed by a 1-800 number to call for support.
Once you call that number, a scammer vows to fix the problem under the guise of working for Netflix, and instructs people to grant remote access to their computer. From there, it’s a veritable smorgasbord.
“I had set up fake banking sheets on the desktop and they were taken as we were speaking,” the expert pointed out. He cut the demonstration short as soon as the scammer asked for credit card information, something you should do as well, if you get that far.
The site appears to be down now, and Netflix said it’s aware of the scam and believes it’s no longer active. But that’s no guarantee that it won’t rise again in similar form, or that another scammer could employ the same tactics.
So again, if anyone wants remote access to your computer, always make sure you know and trust that person. Because no one at Netflix, your bank or any other service should ever need to do so.
Netflix scam put users’ credit cards, personal information at risk [CBS News]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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