Redondo Beach Police Warn Residents of Tech Support Scam Calls

REDONDO BEACH, CA — Redondo Beach police are warning residents about a scam that's been around for years but has lately started to resurface in the South Bay.

Scammers would call claiming to be techs from well-known software companies to gain people's trust. The scammers would claim that they have detected viruses or other malware to trick residents into giving them remote access or to pay for unnecessary software.

According to police, scammers get basic information about the person from publicly available sources and then try to gain the victim's trust. Once they have gained your trust, they may:

• ask you to give them remote access to your computer and then make changes to your settings that could leave your computer vulnerable
• try to enroll you in a worthless computer maintenance or warranty program
• ask for credit card information so they can bill you for phony services — or services you could get elsewhere for free
• trick you into installing malware that could steal sensitive data, like user names and passwords
• direct you to websites and ask you to enter your credit card number and other personal information

Police say if you get a call from someone who claims to be a tech support person, hang up and call the company yourself on a phone number you know to be genuine. A caller who creates a sense of urgency or uses high-pressure tactics is probably a scam artist.

Authorities say never give your credit card or other information to someone who calls and claims to be from tech support and never give your password over the phone.

Legitimate companies will not ask for your password.

— Photo via Pixabay