Today’s internet can be a dangerous place from time to time. We are constantly bombarded with a myriad of advertisements and scams with every page that we visit. Something to be wary of while navigating the world wide web is the existence of fake tech support.
Fake tech support is just what is sounds like; it is tech support that is malicious in nature and designed to attack vulnerable users that may not have the experience necessary to differentiate legitimate tech support from fake tech support. The identification of fake tech support can sometimes be pretty simple depending on how it presents itself. One way that you can tell the difference is if you haven’t signed up for a company’s tech support service and you are getting a message from that company informing that your device is ‘infected’ or ‘at risk’, chances are you are experiencing fake tech support. It is pretty simple to come to this conclusion. Why would a legitimate company cold-call you or send you the message to tell you that you are at risk? Well, the simple answer is, there is no reason and only a company trying to trick you into thinking that you require their ‘services‘ would do that.
For example, if you were driving down the road in your car and stopped at a red-light and someone walked up and told you that you need an oil change and they can perform one for you for a good price, would you believe them? Well, most people would not. How would that person know that you need an oil change? The simple answer is, they wouldn’t.
Being able to make this distinction between fake and legitimate tech support services is a great strength to have as these types of scams are only going to increase in abundance in the years to come. So next time you see one of these messages or get a cold-call about your computer, stop and think about what the intentions of the company are that is contacting you before letting your guard down.