Seltek receives many emails each week from clients asking if a received call or email is real. Recently, we have noticed an increase in two specific types of computer fraud.
The first is a call from a fake computer technician to fix a supposed problem on your PC. The caller identifies himself as a Dell, Microsoft or other employee. The caller will then tell you that your system is infected with a virus which has alerted him somehow. He will then pretend to walk you through a couple of steps to fix the issue but naturally the “problem” is not corrected. Next he will tell you that he needs to access your computer to fix the “problem.” Once he has access to your system he will try to convince you to pay hundreds of dollars to fix the faux “problem.” In some cases, malware will be planted to infect your computer, giving you no choice but to pay for the computer to be fixed. The big computer companies, like Dell, HP and Microsoft, will NEVER call you to fix a problem on your computer. Don’t let someone you do not know gain access to your computer, even if they tell you it is in your best interest.
The second type of fraud we are seeing is the use of invalid emails to convince users to perform a wire transfer of funds. The criminals send an email using an email address that is close to the original, but could have two letters transposed or have @gmail.com at the end of the email address. One example of this is a fraudulent email from a Title Company to a home buyer requesting the money for the purchase be wired to a specific account. We have also seen fraudulent emails from the “president” or “owner” of a company to the CFO/Office Manager requesting a wire transfer. Most of the examples of this fraud involve wire transfers. If you get a request for a wire transfer, make sure to call the other party to confirm the request. Even if the email appears legitimate, it doesn’t hurt to verify the request.
