SCAM WATCH
SCAM WATCH: Be careful when sharing computer screen
When is it safe to share your computer screen and when should you shun any such request?
A Corrales man learned a valuable lesson about this when he shared his screen with a bogus computer tech, only to find that his computer had been invaded by illicit software programs that took great effort to unravel.
There are legitimate reasons to share your screen, such as getting help from a trusted computer company when something is not working. But strict guidelines should be followed so you don鈥檛 end up like the Corrales man.
His woes started when the entire right side of his computer screen filled with a series of popups, supposed ads for McAfee, a software protection company.
He tried several times to delete the ads by clicking the Xs, but the only thing that worked was rebooting his computer.
He then tried to contact Norton, with which he had a longstanding account for virus and cybersecurity protection. That鈥檚 when the next bad thing happened: He only thought he was contacting Norton. In reality, his online search for the company鈥檚 phone number turned up an imposter that he called instead.
Doing so unleashed an ugly set of events, and here鈥檚 why: He shared his screen with the fake Norton security officer, providing details such as his user ID and even his physical address. When he became suspicious and started asking questions, the imposter hung up.
It turned out that two malicious viruses had been installed on his computer, and his email account had been cleaned out. The emails were restored, and he avoided losing any money by changing all his passwords.
But an easy lesson from all of this is to use caution when searching for a company phone number. It鈥檚 more than easy to fake a website that leads you to malicious scammers.
When it comes to sharing your screen, you should only do so if you initiated the contact rather than a supposed company representative reaching out to you.
Make sure you 鈥渓og into an official account portal, if you have one, or make sure you are on a verified website,鈥� says Mona Terry, chief operating and programs officer for the Identity Theft Resource Center.
She notes that the actual website name is always the word directly before the .com, .gov, .org and so on. For example, support.microsoft.com, not microsoft-support.com.
Other tips from Terry:
Share only your screen and not access to your computer. The person helping you should be able to walk you through the steps without requiring you to log into personal accounts, particularly financial accounts.
Before sharing, log out of any apps. If you are prompted to log into an account, do so before sharing the screen. Don鈥檛 ignore security warnings and don鈥檛 visit websites to download software. Instead, use an official app store.
Any requested billing or payment should be done before a session and not during. And it should be through the account or a legitimate app. Pay only through standard methods like a credit card or authorized billing on file.
If you realize that you have given access to a bad actor, immediately disconnect from the internet and take the device to a reputable local technician to scan for malware.
If any accounts were open during sharing or the scammer asked you to log in to any, 鈥渦pdate account passwords from a separate, clean device and check to make sure no changes were made or devices added to the accounts,鈥� Terry says.
Contact Ellen Marks at emarks@abqjournal.com if you are aware of what sounds like a scam. To report a scam to law enforcement, contact the New Mexico Consumer Protection Division at 505-490-4060. Complaints can be filed electronically at nmag.gov/contact-us/file-a-complaint/.
