The estimated reading time for this post is 12 minutes
The Wonder of Tech is honored to welcome Lorraine Reguly as a guest author. Lorraine is a Wonder of Tech reader and fellow blogger who fell victim to a computer scam. She graciously shares her story with us and offers advice on how you can prevent this computer scam happening to you.
“It’ll never happen to me!”
“I’m too smart to fall for a scam!”
These are a couple of the thoughts I used to have. No more… because, as smart as I am, I fell victim to a scam.
Luckily for me, I was smart enough to take steps quickly… and I’m thankful I did. Otherwise, my entire life would be in the hands of someone else… not to mention my all of my money.
Today I’m going to share with you the details of what happened to me, so that you can be prepared for a situation that you will hopefully NEVER encounter, and know what steps to take.
How I Became a Victim of a Computer Scam
On January 22, 2016, I received an email from a trusted source that I couldn’t read. It contained a link that said “view in browser” so I clicked the link in the email.
The window that opened was not what I expected.
Instead, a list of viruses showed up with a recording that repeated itself, and a pop-up appeared, telling me to contact Microsoft at 1-866-277-2024.
I didn’t know what was happening, it all happened so fast.
I confess that I hadn’t been using my laptop for a while (my mom broke her arm before Christmas, and I’ve been caring for her since then).
I didn’t know what to do.
I tried closing the windows. They wouldn’t close.
I figured Microsoft would know what to do to fix this issue. So I called them… using the number provided to me.
Without thinking.
Without verifying that was their number.
BIG MISTAKE!
The guy I spoke to on the phone tried to tell me what to do. Being a non-techie, I am ALWAYS at a loss of how to fix techie-related things.
What’s more is that the guy wanted to me to grant him remote access to my computer to repair it.
He was very professional, and had brought me to a page that had the Microsoft logo on it… and so I didn’t hesitate to download the software that would give him access to my beloved Toshiba laptop running Windows 8.
But… Something didn’t seem quite right.
When the pop-up window that asked me if they could make changes to my computer came up, it didn’t say Microsoft was the publisher. Instead, it said something like the KoHo Corporation. But it looked official.
So I took a deep breath and clicked “YES.”
[note] => Also read How to Avoid a Tech Support Scam! [/note]
What happened next was a bit weird. The guy checked the warranty on my computer. When I purchased it in January of 2013, I also purchased an extended, 3-year warranty.
That warranty ran out 9 days prior to this scam. Go figure. (Maybe that’s how these criminals knew they could try and scam me. Who knows?)
Anyways, the guy on the phone said I’d have to purchase another warranty if I wanted him to fix the problem. He also ran some type of a scan on my laptop and the results showed that I’d been hacked, and that my laptop contained Zeus Malware.
Okay, this guy is legit. (WRONG!)
He even brought me to the Wikipedia page for Zeus Malware, which explained what this was. (It primarily steals banking information.) Oh, great.
He explained that I could buy another 3-year warranty, or opt for a one-year warranty at the low (!) price of $199.
Because I was finally getting suspicious, I told him that I didn’t have that much money in my PayPal account. He then said I could pay a one-time fee of $99, and that he couldn’t fix my computer until the warranty was extended.
I told him I wasn’t going to buy the warranty because I didn’t have enough money. I did, but I wasn’t about to pay him because I was suspicious of the whole situation. I figured that he was just after my money, and that was his scam — to get me to pay him some money… for basically nothing, as he’d likely disappear after obtaining it!
At this point in time, I had to prepare to leave for an appointment (I had to take my mom to physiotherapy). I asked him what I could to do fix this, and he said that if I turned off my computer for an hour, my bios would be re-set.
HUH? I have bios? What are those? (Told you I’m non-techie!!!)
Well, okay… I had to leave anyway, so I shut ‘er down, and left. I closed all my open tabs (something I generally don’t do on a regular basis even though I should…) because I didn’t want the guy looking at my stuff OR learning my passwords (I use Chrome as my browser, and it saves everything!).
I have to, at least, give myself credit for that.
Then I high-tailed it to the bank, emptied my accounts (just in case!!!) and made them all “Deposit Only” accounts, with an added stipulation that I have to physically go into the bank AND show identification when I want to make a withdrawal.
Geez.
Then I reported all of my credit cards stolen. Yep. ALL of them.
Double geez.
Google is My Savior
Later that day, I got a text message from Google.
Oh no, what now?
I clicked the link and was brought to a page that said there was some suspicious sign-in activity on my account, and that Google prevented them from getting in.
UGH!
But… thank you, Google!
Apparently, someone was trying to gain access to my Google account. Those thieves!
Google also provided me with an option to secure my account using two-step verification. So I did, following the steps outlined my savior, Google.
[tip] => Don’t miss: How to Use 2-Step Verification for an Extra Layer of Password Protection [/tip]
Listen to Your Family!
Later that day, my sister came over for a visit. When I told her what transpired earlier, she laughed at my stupidity.
But she also advised me to enter the phone number I was given in Google and do a search. I quickly learned it did NOT belong to Microsoft.
Again, UGH!!!
Then I called my son, who had recently gotten his computer fixed. I asked him for the name of the guy who improved the performance of his old laptop (which runs quickly and smoothly now!), and he referred me to the store Staples.
So I called Staples, and explained what happened to me. They assured me they could help me, and that they’ve dealt with this type of situation before.
So… on January 23, 2016, I brought my laptop into Staples. I had to pre-pay for the services I wanted. (It was a good thing I emptied my bank accounts! I normally don’t carry around $270 in cash.)
The reason it cost so much was because I needed a complete scan and removal of all viruses and malware, plus all of my files copied to a USB stick and then re-installed on my laptop. I also opted to have my laptop physically taken apart and dusted.
I was told it would only take a couple of days for them to do the work, and they were true to their word; it took two days.
When I picked up my computer from Staples, I turned it on in the store. I expected things to look different, and they did. I had to have someone show me how to do a few technical, formatting things, and they did. I was there 50 minutes!
Fortunately, the guy there gave me help with customizing my laptop to my liking (pinning the Snipping Tool and the Paint program to the taskbar, adding a Guest user so my nephew could use my laptop on occasion, making my user account password-protected, etc.). But I was told I would have to re-install Microsoft Office on my own.
First, I checked my email and found a few more emails from Google. Thank goodness Google is smart!
My Next Steps
The only thing I had yet to do was re-install Office 2013. Because this was software that didn’t come with my laptop (I had to purchase it separately), the guys at Staples couldn’t help me with that.
When I finally went to install the Office 2013 package, I was unable to get the programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote) working. I’d get an error message, and the program would simply close.
Great. Now what? Call Microsoft. The real Microsoft.
And thus begins Nightmare #2.
When I first called, I spoke to five different people. I kept being passed around from one department to another. No one could help me figure out why I couldn’t install this software… software I paid good money for three years ago.
Was I going to have to buy the newest version? I hoped not!
I spent a long time on the phone with them… over an hour-and-a-half! Seriously. Look!
They also wanted me to grant them remote access to my computer. Oh no, not this again!
Instead of immediately agreeing to this, I called Staples and asked if I should let Microsoft have access. Staples assured me it was okay to do so. Phew!
However, no one at Microsoft could fix the problem. And it was getting late. So… the next day, I called them again.
I encountered the same situation. No one could figure out what the heck was going on.
A couple of days later, I contacted them AGAIN. This time, one technician ran a scan of my computer.
But he still couldn’t figure out what the problem was.
During these four days, I must’ve installed and uninstalled and reinstalled the Office package a half dozen times. All with the same result: none of the programs would work.
A Super-Technician to the Rescue!
FINALLY, after hours and hours of phone calls, and attempts to receive help from 8 different people, I was told I was going to be connected to a super-technician, and that he, 200%, would solve my problem.
Yeah, right. I’ll believe it when I see it.
After another hour or so of the so-called super-technician working on my computer, he finally found a solution to the problem.
No, he didn’t fix the original problem. But he found a work-around solution: he made a copy of the software and I downloaded it and installed it.
Wonder of all wonders…it worked! Thank you, Shyam!
He made sure that we tested each program, too. I told him that he should tell his boss that he deserves a raise!
I’m indebted to Shyam, and am grateful he truly was (and is) a super-technician. I am also going to write a letter to his boss.
Finding Humor in a Bad Situation
When I was going through the motions of re-setting things on my computer, I had to wait for what felt like forever for my computer to update. Just when I thought it was finished, I get a message that it is “Setting up a few more things.”
Yeesh!
I had to laugh at this phrase, as I have never encountered it before on my laptop. Usually, it simply says, “Do not turn off your computer. Installing updates.”
Yeah, I know. I’m weird that I think it’s funny that my laptop knew the phrase “Setting up a few more things.” But hey, I hadn’t smiled in days.
And I finally was able to, now that my laptop was 100% back to “normal.”
I smiled even further when, during the last week of February 2016, I took a vacation. I went to Punta Cana and saw my first palm tree…and relaxed, and unplugged, and had the time of my life! After such a rough few weeks, I deserved it!
And I can’t wait to go again. But next time I won’t wait to get hacked first.
7 Ways for How YOU Can Protect YOURSELF from a Computer Scam
What can you learn from my experience?
1. You need to be a critical thinker. Do NOT take things at face value. Do not trust everyone! Do your research. Investigate the situation, and any phone numbers you are given.
2. You need to act quickly to protect yourself if you suspect you’ve been scammed. Report your credit cards stolen, even if they weren’t. Freeze your bank accounts. Make them “deposit only” accounts. Be smart about allowing yourself (and not others) access to your hard-earned cash.
3. Protect your gadgets. Use strong passwords. Enable two-step verification wherever you can. Let Google be your savior, too!
4. Talk to the right people. Professionals with a veritable reputation who can help you will always give you good advice. They won’t lead you astray. Trust them.
5. Go with your gut. Your gut instincts are almost always 100% correct. Trust your feelings. If you think something is suspicious, or “too good to be true,” it usually is!
6. Pay attention to details, no matter how small. Do not overlook something that may be really important! Suspect everyone and everything! (Yeah, I know it’s sad to do this, but if you want to truly protect yourself, you must.)
7. Don’t let your feelings of shame or embarrassment prevent you from reaching out. Ask others for help. Be honest with them. Come clean about your “victim-ness” and allow them to help you. Don’t let pride get in your way of being helped or protected!
Your Thoughts
What other suggestions do you have? Have YOU ever fallen victim to a computer scam?
Often it’s the sharing of individual stories that will protect us further… even if we’re embarrassed to admit that something so awful has actually happened to one of us.
Share your thoughts in the Comments section, and let’s learn from one another.
About Lorraine Reguly
Lorraine Reguly wears many word-related hats. She is a freelance writer, editor, and blogger who runs the website Wording Well. She also helps others become authors. You can find her on Twitter @lorrainereguly and other social media sites.
* Scam image courtesy of Stuart Miles via freedigitalphotos.net
Hi Lorraine, and welcome to Carolyn’s blog 🙂
Good to see you here! My goodness – all this happened in January? It’s amazing to read all that you went through!
More so, such scams one never imagines could happen to us, and yes, when your mom wasn’t well and you were going through so much more, it kind of makes you lose focus also. It was from Microsoft so one wouldn’t have imagined it to be a scam! I’m glad you found help though, and the lessons learned eventually. Yes, we need to be SO careful online, and Google is wonderful in notifying us indeed.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us Lorraine, and it’s wonderful Carolyn you allowed her to, as it creates awareness among everyone. Have a nice week ahead, both of you 🙂
Yes, Harleena, I have had a rough few months!
Not only was I contending with being my mom’s primary caregiver after she broke her arm at the end of November, but then she decided to put her house up for sale.
Having to deal with fatigue and an emotional situation, I REALLY didn’t the extra hassle of being a victim of a scam.
Fortunately for me, I was able to act quickly before my accounts were truly accessed and my money disappeared.
But dealing with this was sure stressful!
I just hope others can learn from me and know what to do if this should ever happen to them.
Hi Harleena, Yes, I was very sorry to hear about what happened to Lorraine, but thrilled that she was willing to share her story and advice with Wonder of Tech readers.
When her computer was hacked, Lorraine reached out to me but I was traveling and away from the Internet. By the time I returned, Lorraine had wisely had her computer fixed by Staples.
I asked Lorraine to share her story with Wonder of Tech readers and she agreed to write this article, after she returned from her wonderful vacation to the Caribbean!
Lorraine’s experience helps us all to learn what to watch out for and what to do should this unfortunate situation happen again. Thanks to Lorraine for sharing her story here!
Thank you so much, Carolyn, for having me!
What a tale of woe and what good advice. I’ve sent this to my many email friends. Thanks
Thanks for sharing, Lee!
Hi Lee, Thanks so much for sharing Lorraine’s article with others. The more people who read her story and her advice the less likely people will fall prey to these thieves.
I have a Mac, but the same thing pretty much exactly happened to me almost one year ago. I think I mentioned it to you, but maybe if I had spoken up more, you would’ve been more suspicious when this happened. I was embarrassed and still kick myself.
I get those Google email’s too. Slightly worrying.
Kerry, all I remember is the incident with sticky stuff being spilled on your computer, and how you were without a computer for a while.
Yes, when things like this happen, it is best to tell others about them, even if you are a bit embarrassed.
Were you actually scammed or did you not fall for the scam?
Hi Kerry, Yes, it’s natural to feel embarrassed when we fall victim to hackers. But it’s very easy to click on links without thinking and realize too late that we made a big mistake.
I’m very grateful to Lorraine for sharing her story with us here so we can learn from her experience and advice.
Very good advise.
Thank you, Jerry.
HI Jerry, Yes, we can all learn from Lorraine’s horrible experience and the wise steps she took to protect herself after her computer was hacked. Thanks to Lorraine we can all be more aware of suspicious links in emails.
Wow Lorraine! You went through a lot. I never would have thought of reporting my cards as stolen or changing my bank accounts. Quick thinking there!
It’s too bad there are so many scams out there. One is running in Canada now that pretends (by phone) to be the government tax collecting service, telling you need to pay an amount or someone is on the way to arrest you. Many seniors are being taken in by this 🙁
Thanks Carolyn for having Lorraine share this valuable information with us!
Lori
Lori, it’s too bad that predators exist. I feel bad for those who end up galling for such scams.
Thanks for sharing about the tax scam going on in Canada. That’s where I live!
Hi Lori, You’re right, Lorraine had amazing instincts of what to do right after she had been hacked. Giving someone control of a computer, only to find out that person is a thief is very upsetting. But Lorraine kept her cool and took steps to protect herself and get her computer safe again.
Bravo to Lorraine for her quick thinking and for her willingness to share her experience and advice with us today!
That is truly a nightmare. Microsoft Office often won’t install again because they say they sell you a ‘licence’ and not the software and so they build in obsolescence. They try to stop you installing it on other computers, too.
When they stop you closing windows, you can right click your taskbar and bring up task manager and close them with that. 🙂
Mike, yeah, the whole Microsoft situation was a nightmare.
Thanks for the tip about closing the windows!
Hi Lorraine, that sounded like a nightmare! Thank you for sharing what you did to get to that point. I bet many will learn from this.
I’m glad to see how Google warned you and about the two step verification. I surely will be doing that ASAP.
Thanks Carolyn for having Lorraine share her story here! Hope you both have a great start to the new week
Lisa, I believe it is my duty to share these nuggets of wisdom and horrible experiences with others.
We need to help each other survive criminals like these!
Yes, let Google help you. For sure!
Hi Lisa, Yes, it’s best to set up two-step verification before you need it. Having this extra layer of password protection may mean the difference between being hacked or not. It’s chilling to get a text from Google that someone is trying to log into your account. But that’s much better than having it actually happen!
I’m so very grateful to Lorraine for sharing her experience here at The Wonder of Tech. Her nightmare is a lesson for us all!
Hi, Lorraine
I had similar situation happened to me 3 years ago. I was very frustrated and scared.
When we have something distract our focus, we will be very easy to fall into prey. Glad to see you did summarized the lists for us to follow. Will book mark this one for future reference.
Will Share
Stella Chiu
.
Stella, thanks for sharing how easy it is to become prey to such predators. You’re right; when we are distracted, we are more vulnerable.
I am glad you liked my summarized list of tips, too!
Hi Stella, I’m so sorry this happened to you too. Even 3 years later you can probably related to the nightmare Lorraine experienced. I wish no one had to endure this, but I am grateful that Lorraine shared her story with us here.
Thanks so much for your comment and sharing Lorraine’s article, Stella.
I had a brain scam once….
Like you, I would have probably clicked on a link if it came from a ‘trusted source.’ What a nightmare, hopefully the red flag will be raised before I ever get too far down a rabbit hole like that.
You know, Bill, I still haven’t figured out how the hackers were able to send me that email… unless they hacked into the email that was “my trusted source’s.”
I hope you never have to deal with a situation like this!
Hi Bill, Great to see you back! Yes, Lorraine was very smart to realize quickly what had happened and act quickly to protect herself. Her actions prevented the hackers from doing permanent damage to her accounts and her computer.
Hi Lorraine,
Scammers don’t spare anyone. Before trusting anyone online, I make sure to get a proper profile for the person. And secondly, I check the Reputation. And also the tips you have shared are the needed one.
Thanks for the share.
Robin, you are a wise person!
I wish I would’ve thought to use my phone to do a few background checks of my own.
It is very easy to trust the wrong person. Scammers count on that, too.
Good for you for having the foresight to check everyone out!
Hi Robin, That’s very wise to do those checks on people who email you. But we should never click on a link in an email. Scammers have gotten very sophisticated in copying logos from banks, credit card companies and stores. We may think we’re clicking on a link from our bank but instead we’re downloading a virus.
Instead, type in the web address directly into your browser to avoid problem links.
great advice, forwarded it to my friends, and i think two years ago my google adsense account got disappoved and at that time i’ve received similar kind of mail mentioning that someone tried to login into my account, but at that time i’ve left it., so after two years i came to know what might happened that time, thanks ms.reguly
You’re welcome. Thanks for sharing this, too!
Hi Ajay, Thanks for sharing Lorraine’s excellent article. I’m sorry that happened to you, but that’s great Google was on top of it. I highly recommend two-step verification for your password. Adding another layer of password protection can help thwart hackers.
Wow, what a tale that was! Folk need to remember to never click on a link that looks dodgy, even from an email address you know. I tell people all the time that if my signature file isn’t on it then it’s not from me.
Still, I’m glad you were able to get it all cleaned out. I wish these people would use their supposed intellect for good and make money the honest way… the punks!
Mitch, I agree with you and have never understood why such smart people DON’T put their skills to good use. Ugh!
Good point about the signature. 😉
Hi Mitch, I agree, these scammers should put their intellect to better use. How do they sleep at night, knowing they’re stealing from innocent people?
Many links in emails look perfectly fine, unfortunately you don’t know until you click on them that they’re actually leading to a corrupt site. It’s best to never click on links in emails, just type in the website of the business you want to visit, or search it in Google.
Actually, I use a program called Mailwasher which allows me to see what those links actually are while they’re still on the server. I’ve sworn by it for more than 10 years; it’s great! 🙂
Mitch, thanks for sharing that. Carolyn should add this resource to the post!
It’s free for one email account, for more you need the paid version.
Seeing as how not everyone reads through all the comments, please consider doing this, Carolyn!
And thanks again, Mitch. I’m off to grab it now from mailwasher dot net.
Sending a hug your way for this! <3
~Lorraine
Lorraine,
So sorry this happened to you, but right on that you trusted your instinct and took all the right precautions.
I’m always leery about getting emails from any big brands like Yahoo, Bing, Google (yes them) if they want me to click on something in their email. You never know if it’s a scam.
Glad you had a nice break and are back in business!
Elna, thanks for coming by to read what happened. I could’ve simply told you the other night when we had coffee, but I didn’t want to waste our short time together! LOL
I knew you’d want to read the story, anyway. 😉
I’m sure glad I acted quickly, too.
In our businesses, we have to!
From one freelancer to another, I pray this NEVER happens to you!
Hi Elna, You’re very wise to avoid clicking on links in emails. Scammers are getting increasingly sophisticated and making their links look more and more legit.
Lorraine did such a great job with this article, sharing her experience and advice with us. Thanks for stopping by The Wonder of Tech and taking the time to comment.
Oh man Lorraine ,
you have been uncautious on so many levels it astounds me (clicking links in suspicious emails, calling unknown numbers, granting access to your computer etc. etc.) 😐
I am just glad that nothing more serious has happenend to you as the “attacker”/”thief” could have easily installed a back-door on your computer and could have stolen all your data without you even noticing.
Stefan, you have 2 of the 3 things I did wrong… right. However, the email I received was from someone I knew.
But I acted quickly and resolved the mess fast.
Thank goodness!
Yes but just because you knew the email address which sent you the email, you didn’t mind clicking a link to “view online”. Never do that, this is a fire proof sign that the senders email address was abused by a spammer/hacker.
Neverthelesse, thank you so much for showing us what a hassle you had to go through to get things in order again (so much time and money 😮 ).
We’ll all be even more carful now.
I had no idea that that was the case.
I only surmised it after the fact!
Thank you for the warning, Stefan. I will TOTALLY be more careful in the future!
Hi Stefan, Yes, Lorraine did make mistakes, bad for her but good for us that she was willing to and brave enough to share her story with us here. I know many people who have accidentally clicked on malicious links, that’s what the thieves count on. If nobody did it those criminals would have to think of some other way to steal from us.
Lorraine’s article has had a very strong reaction, both here and on social media. Most of us can relate to her story and want to avoid falling prey to hackers. I greatly appreciate Lorraine sharing her experience and advice with us here.
I had no idea that that was the case.
I only surmised it after the fact!
Thank you for the warning, Stefan. I will TOTALLY be more careful in the future!
Hey Lorraine,
Welcome to Carolyn’s place and thanks for sharing your experience with us. That just goes to show us how many people aren’t aware of these types of scams.
I remember watching a television program some time back about the people behind the emails we get about they need to transfer money into the states, etc. etc. I just spam them all but people actually think that’s a real live person behind them and some ended up losing everything.
I think it all reverts back to we don’t know what we don’t know. Until you are introduced to something like that and you know better then you actually do trust these thieves.
That’s a lot of crap you had to go through, I’m so sorry about that. Hard lesson learned but at least you did the right things with taking preventive measures and good old Google. Yep, we may hate them sometimes but they are watching after us.
Glad you’re okay and you had a wonderful vacation to help celebrate.
Hope you ladies have a wonderful week.
~Adrienne
Adrienne, I have never felt stupider than I did the day that all this happened. But at least I acted quickly and didn’t lose anything.
I was able to keep all of the files on my computer (the guys checked them all, and re-installed them on my laptop for me), and safeguard my money.
Phew! What a relief!
The annoying part was dealing with the techs at Microsoft, while trying to resolve the software problem.
I’m glad that I was able to finally have Shyam find me a solution!
Thanks for sharing this post, too! And good luck next month with your endeavors!
Hi Carolyn/Lorraine
Scams are becoming sophisticated. It could have happened to me as well which is why I appreciate the fact that you shared this story with us Lorraine.
Wow! You had to go through all these things. Good thing that your privacy is still intact.
Your security tips are spot on. These days should never be taken for granted. I have seen so many security breach happen to my friends.
Carolyn thumbs up for the share and Lorraine, thanks for the information. Take care and have a swell week
Ikechi, I appreciate your comment and the compliment, too.
Yes, I was very luck, in the end…
I hope your friends are okay!
Great advice.
In fact, I have found any fake contact numbers of Microsoft around the web and in emails. I don’t know why people creating those details but maybe they will try to steal something from you.
Annette, I think that’s the whole point! They WANT to steal your information, your money, etc.
I feel bad for the people who get stolen from, too. But I’m glad I’m not one of them!
Hi, Lorraine….Thanks for sharing you story here.I had similar situations in my life.In this 7 suggestions 1st one is really true… Do not trust everyone blindly …Before taking any action have to do our own research about that… By following anyone blindly can get some troubles.
V Angel, you got that right! Trust NO ONE!
I wish I would’ve done my research with the phone number, first, too. Then I probably could have avoided all the problems I ended up having.