New Scam Spotted by Junk Mail User

At Junk Mail we aim to keep all our users in the know. When we release a new Junk Mail service you are the first to know. We realize that you are sometimes too busy to read up on all the latest news. So we bring the news to you through our regular blog updates.

As you know, the Junk Mail Scam Busting Team take scams very seriously and we are always on the look-out for the new scams that are making their rounds so we can inform you before you become a victim.

A Junk Mail user recently sent us a message to inform us about a new scam that has been circulating during the festive season. We would like to take this time to bring this fake computer maintenance scam to your attention.

How the Scam Works: A person finds your details on the Internet or in the telephone book and phones you saying that they are from Company X. They go on to say that they need to check your computer as they are doing routine website maintenance for Company X. He asks you to go onto the Internet and connect to the company’s website (because you use it regularly). He then says you need to download a programme that helps to increase the speed of your computer so you can use the website better. Once this is all complete, he asks you in a clever way whether you have Internet Banking and whether you have made a payment on the company site. The programme you downloaded is able to get your Internet Banking details and then he has access to your bank account.The main thing to watch out for is the number that shows on your phone if you have IdentiCall.  It starts with ’000′ and a lot of numbers” or “out of order”. It is clear that this people are trying to get access to your PC to get your Internet Banking details and they are very smooth talkers.

Rule of thumb: Never trustanyone who asks for your banking details or asks you to access your computer remotely without you requesting maintenance.

What to do:

(1)   If you don’t have IdentiCall and you receive a call from a stranger claiming they are from a certain company doing routine computer maintenance you have the right to phone the company in question and ask whether they are doing maintenance. If they are not doing computer maintenance explain the full story of what happened to you so they can send a message to all their clients alerting them of these fraudsters. By doing this you may help many unsuspected victims of the scam before they get caught.

(2)   You must remember to ask the caller for their name, title, work phone number and ID number. If they refuse to provide these details you have the right to tell them that they must not call you again as you don’t require their services and promptly put down the phone.

The Junk Mail team would like to take this opportunity to thank Johan for making us aware of this scam. Junk Mail would like to confirm that we are not doing computer maintenance and if you get a call from someone from “Junk Mail” that is claiming to offer you this or other computer maintenance services, please make sure you tell him that you know he is a scammer and you will report him to the police as you have his number on IdentiCall. This should give these con artists the message that the game is up and that we have their eye on them.

Johan has not only taken the time to give all of you great scam avoidance lessons but has also made sure you are more aware of this type of scam. Johan worked in a Detective branch for many years (so he is better trained at spotting these types of cons) but he felt it was his duty to warn our users so that they did not fall victim to this scam. We are very thankful that Johan cared enough to share his experience with us and I am sure you are too.

Now it is your duty to make sure you are always in the know by checking our blog for more informative updates so that you can continue to trade safely online. If you do come across a scam on our site make sure you contact our customer care team immediately at ccc@junkmail.co.za so that our Scam Busting Team can deactivate the advert. If you have spotted a new scam and would like to share this story with us please e-mail us so we can make the entire Junk Mail community aware. We ask that you please share this post with your Friends on Facebook and Twitter and make sure that they are also aware of this con and don’t get swindled out of their hard earned cash.

Check out these related posts in the Safety & Security category on the Junk Mail blog:

• Vodacom Warns Users of New SMS Scam
• Watch Out For The Latest Online Scams
• 3 Scams to Avoid This Festive Season
• Urgent Vehicle Scam Warning