scammers – IDefendForYou https://www.idefendhome.com Ultimate Protection for Your Digital Life Wed, 03 Jul 2024 23:14:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://idefendforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-idefend-favicon-32x32.png scammers – IDefendForYou https://www.idefendhome.com 32 32 Big Tech Companies Will Never Call You Directly https://idefendforyou.com/blog/identityandfinancial/bigtechwillnevercallyou/ Wed, 08 May 2024 22:45:01 +0000 https://idefendforyou.com/?p=5660 If the guy on the phone tells you he's from Microsoft, he's lying.

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Cyberhood Watch >

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  • Big Tech Companies Will Never Call You Directly
If the guy on the phone tells you he's from Microsoft, he's lying.

In this article

When your phone number is exposed online, you can expect multiple sources to begin calling you in an attempt to compromise personal information. With that comes the danger of random people impersonating companies and services in order to try trick you into giving out personal information.

One of the Most Common Phone Scams

Recently there has been an uptick in phone calls in regards to people calling out and impersonating well-known tech companies and services to gain your trust and allow them to connect onto your computer in order to “fix” the issues. This has become a much higher threat recently, including people claiming they are Apple or Microsoft, even providing realistic-looking identification numbers and saying that their techs have noticed suspicious activity on your computer.

But they say it will be so easy!

At that point, they will explain how your computer has been hacked, but how they can resolve the issue with a swift cleaning. Once you allow them into your computer, they can show you a number of fake sources to appear that there are much more serious problems while also stealing your personal information that is stored on your computer. These threats can appear legitimate and believable, but never allow them onto your computer.

Erroneous credit card charges

Another way they will try to compromise your information would be to inform you that there was a high cost charge on your card, and asking if you were the one who made the purchase. You’ll say no, and they will inform you of the fraud and ask to connect to your computer to show you where it happened and how to resolve it. The tricky thing here is, is that they attempt to use scare tactics to cause you to jump to action. The charge is fake, never existed, but because they said it was a $350 charge, and that they can help you fix it, it’s easy to allow them in.

What You Can Do

The best action to take at this point is to hang up and verify the information on your own. If it is a major corporation, find their direct number and reach out. If it was a legitimate problem, they will have a record of the outgoing call and assist you from there. If not, then you dodged a bigger issue here.

Otherwise, consider taking advantage of IDefendForYou’s unlimited tech support service which can clean and discover any threats, if any, and ensure everything is in order.

Remember: big companies will never call you directly

It’s also worth noting that companies such as Microsoft, Apple, etc. will never call you directly about things like this. Think about it: they have millions (if not billions) of customers. There is no way they could have active monitoring on every single computer and call that person when they “discover” a threat. It’s just not realistic or feasible for these companies to do this, so don’t fall for it.

Compromised phone numbers are common

Also important to remember here is that having a compromised phone number is not itself a serious threat, and is actually pretty common. The risk comes, however, from the information you give out over the phone as this can quickly grow into a real problem. They can be asking for something as simple as confirming credit card information for a billing issue before your package ships or as serious as a person impersonating your bank asking you to give out your social security number. Always be wary of people asking for this information over the phone.

Monitor your information

Having your information monitored through an identity theft monitoring system can better inform you when your number is compromised. Remember, you are the greatest protector of your information. The spam calls will cease over time. Your private information is invaluable and nearly impossible to recover once you’ve given it out. Still, with the proper protection and safety measures set up, you can find that peace of mind.

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]]> What To Do If Your Email Gets Hacked https://idefendforyou.com/blog/onlineprivacy/emailgetshacked/ Mon, 05 Feb 2024 23:10:08 +0000 https://idefendforyou.com/?p=5688 It can happen to anyone, but if you're lucky you can avoid it. Worried you've been hacked? Here's what you can do.

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Cyberhood Watch >

pexels-tdcat-193003
  • What To Do If Your Email Gets Hacked
It can happen to anyone, but if you're lucky you can avoid it. Worried you've been hacked? Here's what you can do.

In this article

Email has been around for a few decades now, and practically everyone has one, even if they use it infrequently. Chances are, if you’ve had your address for a few years, you’ve started to see scams, ads, and plenty more unwanted content showing up in your inbox.

You’ve probably also heard of emails getting hacked, and you may have even seen a few of these before—you get a message from your “friend” telling you they need a random amount of money, ASAP, and you’re their only hope. But what if you’re on the other end, and someone else on your contact list gets an email from “you” requesting a similar favor. What do you do then?

Email security

First off, let’s address some basic email security habits that everyone should have. If you haven’t been hacked and there’s something here you’re not doing, consider this your wake up call.

  1. Have a strong password. In today’s digital world, running about with weak and simple passwords is like leaving your car unlocked with your cash-stuffed wallet inside. If you want to anonymously test the strength of your passwords or need help coming up with stronger passwords, check out our guide to passwords.
  2. Consider two-factor authentications (2FA). Another step beyond having a password is setting up 2FA. This means you have to provide a special, one-time code in addition to your password in order to log into and access your email. It may not be right for every use case, but it’s generally a good idea. This can also be known as Multi-factor Authentication (MFA).
  3. Create “better” security questions. You’ve probably had to set up some security questions before: “What street did you grow up on?”, “What’s your mother’s maiden name?”. While these are a nice idea and their original intent was to help a user lock down their account—after all, who else would know these answers besides, well, you? The problem is that since the advent of social media, it’s often pretty easy for a hacker to either guess or do a couple minutes of research to find the answers to these secure questions. A “better” way to answer these questions is by choosing an answer that is meaningful to you but may not even have anything to do with the question itself. For example, answering “What’s your favorite drink?” with “Harry Potter”.
  4. Don’t open unexpected emails. The final tip is crucial to preventing not only your email from getting hacked, but infecting your computer or phone with viruses. Even if you have a rock-solid password, 2FA enabled, and an active virus shield, the moment you click on a strange email, follow the links inside, or try to open an attachment on it, none of that prior protection matters. The best thing you can do is to never even open these emails and instead delete or mark them as spam.

What happens when your email is hacked?

If your email hasn’t been compromised that you know of, but want to know some of the warning signs to watch for, or are simply curious and want to take a couple minutes to learn more about it, this next section is for you.

Typically, the main reason a scammer or hacker wants access to your email address is to use it to try and spread malware or propagate scams to your contact list. Once they have access to your account, they will immediately begin using it to send out malicious emails to every saved address in your contacts. The thinking is that a person is more likely to click on and entertain a suspicious email if it’s coming from their “friend”.

The sad truth is that many people don’t take the time to consider who is actually sending the emails they click on. A lot of users will notice their friend’s email address and assume they are the one who’s sent them a request for a gift card, wire transfer, or link to a compromising video. It’s always better to check with that person (if you actually know them well enough to receive unsolicited emails from them), and verify if they actually did send you that. Otherwise, this should raise a huge red flag.

How does your Email get Hacked?

While it’s technically possible that a hacker could head over to gmail.com, type in a random address and then guess a password, this just isn’t an efficient way for a scammer to operate. More commonly, they will acquire these email addresses either from a hacked website, newsletter, or other kinds of compromised databases.

Once they’ve obtained a list of, say, a few thousand email addresses this way, a hacker might decide to use these themself or put them up for sale on the dark web for other scammers to purchase. Just the addresses themselves without a password aren’t terribly valuable, and so most people who collect these lists are looking to start spamming malicious emails in the hopes that a fraction of the recipients open up and fall for the traps they’ve laid within.

What’s more dangerous, however, is if someone does get both your email address and the password. At this point, unless you’re lucky, they’ll immediately change the password and you’ll find yourself locked out of your account. If this happens, it’s too late to protect your account proactively and you’ll instead need to take some steps to try and recover your account.

What to do if your Email gets Hacked

If you’re lucky and the hacker didn’t change your password but you’ve received reports of people getting scammy emails from your address, you should immediately call your IDefendForYou Advisor team at 801-724-6211.

If you’ve found yourself on the receiving end of a hacked email account, following these steps is the best way to reclaim your data and get back up and running again.

  1. Report the hacking to your email provider. Most of the major providers have a way to do this from the sign-in screen.
  2. Scan your computer/phone for viruses and malware. If you have [our service], one of our techs will have your back on this one.
  3. Change your security questions and make them better. Better questions equal better security. If you’ve ever done one of those social media posts about “your first car, your high school mascot, etc.” you may have unknowingly given out answers to your security questions. Try using answers only you would know and never share them.
  4. Change your password and make it stronger. If you use this same password or email to log into other websites, you should also change it there.
  5. Let friends and family know you got hacked. If you suspect any malicious or scammy emails have been sent from your account, letting people know you got hacked and not to open anything weird from you is a good idea.
  6. Check your email settings. Pay especially close attention to the automatic forwarding settings to make sure nobody else is snooping in your inbox.
  7. Activate monitoring. If you’re worried that any of your sensitive personal data might be compromised (things like personal IDs, SSN, DOB), having active dark web monitoring and identity theft protection in place will give you peace of mind.
  8. Pay attention to any 2FA you’ve set up. As stated above, if you start seeing texts on your phone or messages through another email account with access and verification codes you didn’t request, report it to your email provider right away.

Final Thoughts

Nobody wants to wake up to a hacked email account, but unfortunately identity theft, hacking, and scams have risen exponentially over the last few years. For most of us, identity theft, ransomware, and hacking is no longer only something we’ll hear about on the news, or that doesn’t happen to us.

Having active protection in place is no longer something only business owners and global corporations need to be concerned with, as more and more individuals, families, and small businesses are falling prey to cybercrime daily. We believe that everyone deserves the peace of mind that comes with knowing your information is safeguarded, and you have steps in place for the day that identity theft comes knocking at your door.

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]]> You Probably Use the Deep Web Every Day, But Not the Dark Web https://idefendforyou.com/blog/identityandfinancial/deepwebeveryday/ Fri, 12 Feb 2021 16:37:42 +0000 https://idefendforyou.com/?p=5326 You don’t need to know everything about the dark web to know the dangers it poses to you and your family. We'll give you the basics here.

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Cyberhood Watch >

dark_web
  • You Probably Use the Deep Web Every Day, But Not the Dark Web
You don’t need to know everything about the dark web to know the dangers it poses to you and your family. We'll give you the basics here.

In this article

We’ve all heard of the dark web, but what is it really? What can you find there and is it all bad? We’ll explore the difference between the dark web and the deep web, what you will find in each and what you need to know.

Deep Web or Dark Web?

You’ll sometimes hear people refer to the “dark web” and the “deep web” as the same place, but that’s not true. The deep web (also referred to as “hidden web” or “invisible web”) refers to places on the internet that can only be accessed through a login. That would include your online banking, Netflix, Ancestry.com, and any other membership site.

The deep web = login + password

If you need to login to see it, that’s the deep web. You’ve been using the deep web for years and didn’t even know it. Because it’s behind a paywall or a membership login, these parts of the internet are not indexed, so you won’t find them from a Google search.

The dark web is the bad one

The dark web isn’t indexed by search engines either, but that’s because of the illegal and dangerous nature of its content. We’ve all heard stories and read headlines of the illicit activities that take place there. It’s all true. This is a place where you can buy everything from illegally harvested organs to hacked bank account information.

It’s a truly malicious marketplace.

Cyber Criminals Love the Dark Web

You see, some cyber criminals are great at stealing personal information with malware or through hacking, but they don’t want to get caught using it. They then post listings for this information on the dark web and allow other users to purchase it.

A hacker is less likely to get caught if they are selling your information to other criminals rather than using the information for fraud.

Stolen information is the dark web’s currency

Because of this, information is one of the main items bought and sold on the dark web, and you’re caught right in the middle of it. This is where dark web monitoring comes into play.

Dark Web Monitoring

With dark web monitoring, you’ll receive notifications when your information has been compromised and is available to criminals. This could include your bank account login and password, your social security number and place of employment, or even your birth date and home address.

Any single piece of information is harmless enough—it’s easy to guess a random social security number. The trouble is when they get more than that. When multiple pieces of information are combined, it allows the criminal to commit a wide range of crimes from unemployment fraud, credit card fraud, home title theft and more.

How dark web monitoring works

Dark web monitoring will notify you when your private information is posted online. This gives you the opportunity to update passwords, change details and even pause your credit. This is the closest thing to fortune telling and it could save you from becoming a victim.

Make sure you’ve protected yourself with an identity theft recovery service, but upgrading to a dark web monitoring is the ounce of prevention that will save you from a deep dark headache.

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