Summary
While many scams may come to you by email or social media, computer-related scams are those that involve fake messages about your computer. These might be notifications claiming your computer has been locked by Microsoft or an email stating your antivirus subscription payment has been received or is due.
Prevention
Here are three steps you can take to help prevent computer-related scams.
- AD BLOCKING — Ad blocking software can help prevent malicious ads from launching fake pop-ups or downloads.
- SECURITY SOFTWARE — Malware on your computer can cause fake pop-up messages or alerts. Good security software can help reduce your exposure.
- SITE NOTIFICATIONS — Modern web browsers let you subscribe to websites and receive notifications through your computer notifications area. With Windows computers these show up in the bottom right. On Apple computers these show up in the top right. Try to sparingly use the notification feature. This will reduce the possibility of deceptive pop-up messages seemingly from your computer.
Non-Computer Related Scams
Scams not directly related to your computer may come by postal mail or be received by text message or phone call. These can about your car warranty or your bank account. So, they are not specifically related to something about your computer.
All forms of scams are problematic, but those seeming to be directly related to some tech issue will often prompt a person to contact a tech consultant or tech savvy friend who will warn them about scams.
Scams that don’t seem to be computer-related may leave someone in a position of not knowing who to contact with questions, so they may just continue talking to the person on the phone, thinking they are talking to a car dealership or bank employee.