New Amazon scam encourages you to abandon control of your computer

Crooks could try to take advantage of the holiday shopping season.


From marketing emails to monitoring information and receipts, it is almost too easy for companies to contact customers today. For the most part, it can be easy to ignore communications that are not important, especially now that there are so many. But the criminals were still able to take Advantage of technology To attract people to give significant information or funds. Now, an resident scam making the rounds involves alleged representatives of Amazon trying to encourage you to abandon control of your computer. Read the rest to see how these fraudsters target the victims without distrust.

Read this then: Never buy anything online with this type of card, the FBI warns .

Scams modify their format to include a mixture of messages and phone calls.

concerned man talking on phone
Whisper

Scams are the type of crimes that had to evolve with technology over time. And while phones have long been used as a tool to attract potential targets, the digital age has only expanded the tools available for crooks. The recent tendency to receive strange text messages from random numbers - or Even yours - Tempt to take advantage of how we are flooded with constant communications on our devices. Now crooks are starting to combine emails or SMS with telephone calls with live operators to remove their dirty work.

A recent example is known as "recall phishing". The authorities warn that the scam in development targets small businesses and individuals by reaching out to a subscription or an imminent charge and providing a telephone number that leads to a dummy customer service center. Unfortunately, this type of crime seems to be decorated: according to data from the security company by e-mail agari, there was a 625% increase In the recall phishing activity from the beginning of 2021 in the second quarter of this year, The Washington Post reported.

But now, a similar type of scam uses a very familiar company to attract the attention of the victims.

A new Amazon scam is trying to encourage people to abandon control of their computers to criminals.

woman looking at text on phone
Whisper

The modern boom in electronic commerce has made sure that we are constantly bombed with shipping notifications and delivery alerts quite regularly. So, of course, the crooks now present themselves as the larger online retailer By running an Amazon scam which finally aims to take control of your computer.

In a recent example, the editor of the American techradar Lance Ulanoff described a running -in with such fraudster which started with a apparently simple notification message sent to his phone. The text said that his card had just been billed $ 649 for a mini projector, including an identification number, a date of purchase and a telephone number to call if the accusation was a mistake.

Ulanoff says he was immediately wary of the message because they became a relatively common form of spam on our phones. But he was convinced that the text came from crooks when he realized that the contact number provided did not correspond to the number on the caller ID from which the message was sent. He also noticed that the text had a typo that exchanged an "o" for a zero, which is a major red flag in an official communication of a large company.

Knowing that a scam was underway, Ulanoff decided to call the number listed for educational purposes. He was quickly linked to a representative who told him that he had placed an order to be delivered to Ohio despite the fact that he lived in New York - even if his Amazon account showed no signs of Purchase pending. The crook then asked him to download a program called Anydesk, a legitimate remote desktop software that gives access to your computer or the phone to other users. Once a victim manages control, crooks can steal personal information, use connections to transfer funds or download sensitive documents that they can hold for ransom.

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Local police in certain areas have warned of similar Amazon scams.

police officer receiving report on phone
Photographer / Shutterstock

Halfway through his experience, Ulanoff said he had taken a moment to examine other cases of fraudsters trying this type of scam and met a major warning. He came across a March 1st public alert Published by the Bureau du Sheriff du Comté de Beaufort en Caroline du Sud about the crooks who were moving from Amazon to have access to the devices of the victims. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

In this case, fraudsters asked users to download the application to their phones. "The Remote Anydesk application offers the imitator access to the victim's mobile phone, which includes the bank and other accounts stored on the aircraft," said the authorities. "Once the access has been granted via the Anydesk remote application, imitators have stolen various sums of money from the victims."

Here's how to avoid being the victim of this Amazon scam.

older man concerned phone call
Fizkes / Shutterstock

In the end, Ulanoff says that he found an intelligent way to tell the crook imitating the Amazon agent that he would not download the program. However, it warns that it is essential to remain aware of unexpected messages from Amazon or other retailers, especially during the holiday shopping season.

According to the Sheriff's Bureau of the Comté de Beaufort, it is also essential to never control your computer or your phone to a customer service agent in a situation like this, because "this will certainly lead to fraud". The agency recommends that it does not respond to any scam message and call for Amazon or retailer directly to its publicly displayed customer service number if you have a problem.

If you are caught up and realize that you have been the victim of an Amazon scam, the agency immediately recommends reporting it to the police.


Categories: Smarter Living
Tags: / News / / Tech and Gadgets
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