AlanHarmon.net

I know 3 people that have almost fallen for this scam - A 92 year old, a 68 year old, and a 23 year old. Here is how it works:

You Are Browsing the Internet and All Of A Sudden You Get This Flashing Message

What just happened is that you inadvertently went to a website that was either owned by criminals, or was temporarily taken over by criminals, usually without the website owners knowledge. Either way, they got you to visit their site, and they are able to put up this very scary message, and might even be able to freeze your computer.

So, Now You Are FREAKED OUT

The Scammers have you scared. You are worried that you have been hacked, and you see this message "From Microsoft" on your screen, so what is a prudent person supposed to do? Call the Microsoft Number Right - they are trying to help you out Right?

The number is actually the Scammers Number. If you call that number, you might get into some trouble. I will tell you a story of three people that I know very well, that fell prey to these folks. None of them lost any money, but all of them put themselves at risk, and two of them had credit cards out ready to give the scammers their hard earned cash!

Victim #1 - Our 94 Year Old

Our 94-year-old victim got all the way to sharing her screen with scammers and had a credit card out ready to give the scammers the credit card numbers before giving me a call for my opinion.

Victim#2 - Our 68 Year Old

Our 68-year-old victim got all the way to sharing her screen with scammers and was thinking about pulling out her credit card to give the scammers the credit card number before giving me a call for my opinion.

Victim#3 - Our 23 Year Old

Our 23-year-old victim was talking to the scammers for a few minutes giving out lots of information about them, such as his age and income, before the scammer determined that he wasn't worth the time, so the scammer just ended the call and moved on to the next sucker that was going to give them a call.

BEST PRACTICES

Here are some Best Practices to follow to lower your risks of getting scammed.

1. Never click a link from a text or website that you are not familar with. Instead, go to the internet on your browser and type the link in yourself.
2. Never call a number that you see from a text or website that you are not familar with. Instead, go to the internet on your browser and go to their website that you are familiar with and find the number there. If it doesn't match the number you were seeing - it i
3. If you see the message in the images above, turn your computer off and restart it. It will likely be fine when you turn it back on. You can run a virus scanner (Like Avast, or Windows Defender) to make sure. There are lots of YouTube Videos showing you how to do this. The scammers keep getting better, and they prey on people's fear of being scammed, love for Free Stuff, concern about shipments, things greatly discounted, hope for free money, etc.