Spam Phone Calls

Those annoying phone calls regarding your "compromised" computer once again seem to be on the increase.   I regularly remind people about this type of spam/phishing phone call but when it actually happens to them they become concerned, or even worse, do what the phone call asks them to do.

Yesterday a concerned friend forwarded me a voicemail warning her that her "personal information might possibly have been compromised and to "Press 1" to speak with the security team now."  Even though you've heard it before and we know about these techniques, when it happens to you it can be unsettling.  Remember this - creating fear is one of the main techniques a spammer/hacker will use to get you to share some of your confidential information.  Another is a "sense of urgency": "you need to do this NOW"

So a friendly reminder in today's Tech Tip:  If your phone (either landline or smartphone) displays a number you do not recognize, just let it ring.  Do not answer. Period.  If the call is legitimate, a voicemail will be left and you can immediately return the call.

Hope you can find some time today to leave your phone inside and go outdoors to enjoy this beautiful almost-spring weather (despite the wind).  :-)

Don't return that middle of the night phone call!

Phone calls in the middle of the night can certainly be alarming and in the past week there have been reports in the news that warned people about a middle-of-the-night phone call scam.
The warning reported that your phone may ring just once, and it is usually in the middle of the night.  DO NOT return the phone call.  Occasionally a message is left asking that you return the call, and if you do phone charges can be incurred because it is an international number.  Caller ID often depicts the call as originating in the US, but most really are international using the prefix - 222 (Mauritiana) or 232 (Sierra Leone).

It's unclear what the "payoff" is for those initiating this scam, but you can read more about this scam here.