Olympic Fever amongst Fraudsters

With only a few days into the Olympics, scammers, thieves and fraudsters are already on the prowl for a chance at some silver.

While this is not the first time that thieves have used the games to make money, the increased social media focus of London 2012 presents new challenges for security by creating a platform for thieves to dive into. 

Highly televised sporting events including the World Cup and the Olympics are a constant target for the 419 scam, or some variant of the advance fee fraud wherein the scammer requests a sum of cash up front with the promise of a huge monetary gain. Usually, the scammer will claim that the victim has one a lottery held by the Olympic Committee. Chances are that that email recipient did not even enter a lottery 

London 2012 spam emails can come in many forms with some more convincing than others. While I normally pride myself in being able to detect a would-be ‘phisherman’ from a mile away, some of the scams I’ve analysed have caused me to take a second glance (maybe I really did win that date with the US men’s beach volleyball team…).  

The scammer at the other end of the email can be quite deceptive; his livelihood relies on tricking people after all. Often, the email will contain either a link to a fraudulent website or an executable file for you to download. Either of these options can put your computer at risk of getting a virus, and ultimately puts you at risk of identity theft. 

Unfortunately Olympic scams are not limited to the cyber world. There have been numerous reports of fake ticket sales, which leave fans out of money and disappointed about missing the game. So for those enviable people enjoying the Olympic Games, stay cautious and remember that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. 

Whether you are one of the few lucky Canadians sitting in an Olympic stadium in London or are simply viewing the games from home, remember that there are always people out there willing to ruin a good time for the chance at making a profit. If you come across anything that you think may be a scam, look closely for anything suspicious, Google the company’s name and if you really want to be sure- call our hotline at 1-866-436-5461 and I’ll guide you through how to tell if it’s real or not.

Technical support scam warning

After receiving a call today from a man concerned that is mother had become victim of an online scam, I did a little investigative work to check out the source of his troubles- Live-Technician.

In general, I find that if people are suspicious enough about an email/website/phone call/travelling salesman (or an offer seems too good to be true) to call the Centre in the first place, it most likely is a scam. 

But, just to confirm I first called the hotline (1-866-216-8304) and very bluntly asked them if indeed they were a scam. The operator told me that she would be able to answer my question once I gave her remote access to my computer. Politely, I declined and asked her more about her services.

She then hung up on me. 

To find out more, I looked through the website, checking out what they offer along with any other information that would lead me to know for sure whether or not they are a real company.

From the blog that was clearly inserted into Google translate to the unsecured login page and the “free” yearly service that costs $239.99, I determined that it was a scam.

This is how the scam works:

The problem starts when a victim becomes concerned about a technical problem with his or her computer-It could be anything from a printer malfunction to a blocked email address or a threat of a virus. The victim then Googles whatever their problem may be in order to find a solution. Instead, what they find is a link for technical support that claims to fix whatever problem you may have through remotely accessing your computer. 

Remote access allows the ‘support person’ to make changes on your computer- including accessing your files and downloading viruses. This tool is extremely helpful if the person is professional and trustworthy, but potentially dangerous if they have other motives.

There are several ways scams like these make money: 

1)      This “service” in particular charges over $200 to remotely access your computer one time and offers a yearly subscription for unlimited access for products that normally cost less than $50 per year.

2)      Once your computer has been remotely accessed by a fraudster, they can steal any information you have on your computer including: private work related information, banking information, passwords, photos and other information you definitely do not want accessed by a stranger.

Come to think about it… perhaps Carly Rae fell victim to one of these scams…

3)      Once the fraudster has gathered your personal information, they can make more money by selling it online to a third party.

Here are a couple ways to discover whether a website you visited is fraudulent or not:

  

•   Google the name of the company and the tech support number- If several links come up promoting the website that are from blogs, forums or any other site that is free or easily built than it could be fake.  Try typing ‘scam’ after the name and see if anyone else has reported problems with the company.
•    Read through the website- does it seem as though the writing was translated through an online translation tool?
•    If there is a section of the website that requests that you log in, look at the address bar. The address should begin with ‘https’ beside a symbol of a padlock. These features indicate that it is a secured website and is safe to access.
•   Hover over any links provided on the website. If they lead towards a social media account with no content and a few inactive followers, it could be a sign of fraud.

The risk of identity theft increases significantly when others access the information stored on your computer. Allowing someone to have remote access to your files is like giving your car keys to a stranger. Avoid this at all costs and if you ever need technical support, go through an established and reputable business.