It’s too important to watch out for tech support scams like calls. What about legitimate tech support businesses? Where can you find a reliable, secure, and affordable tech support merchant account to grow your business? This article will tell you how. Also, you’ll learn more about this type of scams.
Tech Support Scams
There’re different types of scams. Some scammers call people at home and tell them they’re from Apple or Microsoft. Others are those who people mistakenly call while searching for technical support. The third ones send pop-up messages warning about problems with PCs.
So, people can just get a phone call from a person telling that the PC is infected with a virus. If the owner of the PC allows this person, he/she can remotely log in to the PC to help him/her get rid of that malware. Interestingly, the caller may present a bill (almost $500) for fixing the computer.
If the owner of the PC refuses to pay, the caller will deem the matter as a civil theft. As a rule, the scammer will report it to the credit bureau, thus causing harm to FICO scores. Moreover, the PC will get compromised.
The Federal Trade Commission reports that such billing practice is called the “Tech Support Scam.” People should be extremely careful when searching for tech support phone numbers. For example, Apple tech support personnel’s legitimate phone numbers are listed on the websites with “apple.com.” Adobe support phone numbers are on the websites with “adobe.com.”
So, it’s easy to check and see whether the given call is legitimate or not. Also, no one should share their passwords or give control of one’s PC to callers.
When it comes to legitimate tech support business owners, it’s critical for you to look for a reliable and experienced payment processor if you need to open a tech support merchant account. A reputable merchant services provider in the field will offer you secure, low cost and reliable merchant accounts to help you grow your business with ease.
Tech Support Scams: What to Do?
Microsoft received 183.000 claims on scams in 2017, which was just a fraction. Have you been scammed? What’s important to do in such a situation?
- Update/download legitimate security software. Run scanning of the PC. Get rid of all problems.
- Change all the passwords shared with the caller. Change these passwords on all accounts.
- If you’ve used a credit card to pay the bill, contact your credit card company and ask to reverse the charges. Find out whether your statements include charges you didn’t make. Ask to reverse those as well. Report it to gov.
As a Microsoft spokesperson notes, tech support scams are widespread across the industry. Importantly, Microsoft never calls people to provide technical assistance. No one should take the risk. The spokesperson recommends hanging up the call or closing the browser if there’s a popup.
For tech support, people can simply reach out via the Microsoft Answer Desk or contact a Microsoft store. It’s important to report any information about the scam to local authorities or alert Microsoft through the Report a Scam form just right off the bat.
Author Bio: Electronic payments expert Blair Thomas co-founded eMerchantBroker, serving both traditional and high-risk merchants by offering a tech support merchant account, and other merchant services. His passions include producing music and traveling.