We also provide guidance on protecting yourself from scams and where to get help.

Spread the word to your friends and family to protect them.While this is by no means a new fraud, scammers are thought to have taken advantage of the fact that many households have signed up to Amazon Prime since the pandemic hit. This week the consumer group Which? warned of the dangers of computer takeover scams which cost victims more than £16m a year. Report scams and suspicious activity to the Federal Trade Commission at highlighted the case of a woman from Brighton who lost almost £7,000 in July to a cold caller claiming to be from Amazon Prime security who tricked her into downloading TeamViewer.An actual tech support staffer will never ask for your personal or financial information.Go directly to the company’s website to get its contact information. If you need help, contact a company you trust.Don’t click on any ads for tech support.If you get a popup message saying there’s a problem with your computer that includes a phone number, don’t call it.

If you get an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming that there’s a problem on your device, hang up.

Before sharing your screen, close or hide any documents, browser windows or other files you don’t want others to see.

There are steps you can take to avoid falling victim to these types of scams: Tap or click here for seven tech support scams to watch out for. Tech support scams commonly use screen sharing to take control of your device. You need to be vigilant of all types of scams, no matter where you are. Though the research from the FCA pertains to cases in the U.K., scams don’t often stay isolated in one part of the world for very long. The FCA’s Warning List shows firms that are not authorized or registered by the FCA and are known to be running scams. The FCA says that scammers have used various platforms with screen-sharing functions, including Teams, TeamViewer and Zoom to target victims. With access to her computer, the crooks could view her banking details and pensions and apply for loans on her behalf.

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