Technology is ever evolving, and more and more individuals are relying on computers, but with that brings opportunities for the so-called bad actors to hack into your system and steal any personal information they can gain access too. Monmouth Police Department Investigator Josh Kramer informs locally they have received calls of malware gaining control through email:
“It is a malware where you probably open it in an email and you will get a warning saying there is something wrong with your computer, your computer is infected and you need to call the number that they provide on the screen. If you get that, you are never going to get that error from your computer system, it is never going to tell you that. It is never going to tell you that your access has been denied, that it has been restricted. What you need to do right away is definitely disconnect your internet. Kill the IP connection because I am not sure how much they have already infiltrated, but if they have it is already going to disconnect that connection to your computer. At that point, I would shut it down and restart it and have somebody that knows something about computers take a look at it. The other thing I would do is any saved passwords that you had on that computer, go change those on a different device.”
Additionally, Investigator Kramer reminds that if you do call the number provided and they are convincing you the bank is involved or they need payment in forms of gift cards or bitcoin, that should be a red flag and hang up from the scammer immediately. Also, if you receive a suspicious email to begin with, don’t click on the like provided.
