I was not planning on having a "Part 3" to this series; however, Marion recently sent an interesting email. This situation does not have anything to do with the web, email or any other things I usually write about. Nevertheless, it is a real personal security concern.
Marion emailed about a "Social Engineering" scam which is becoming more of a concern most every day for everyone. These can hit you even if you do not participate on the internet, email, or any other tech areas. This one is known as vishing, or voice phishing.
She said they received a suspicious phone call on the home land line. However, this could also hit your cell phone. A man with an accent was telling her that their computer was "leaking out information." This is common line. Then they ask you questions about your computer, maybe the version of Windows you use, your computer name, or your username and password. They may ask you anything about your computer, your bank account or any other personal information. They usually (but not always) have a heavy almost unintelligible accent which will get worse as they go along.
Marion said, "We gave him no information whatsoever." That is the absolute best thing you can do. If you have not contacted any company for help just hang up on them. They are trying to get info out of you and use it for disreputable reasons.
You would be surprised at how many people go along with this "official" inquiry. People have given away bank account information and then proceeded to loose thousands of dollars.
Never give anything out to an incoming caller. If you get a call from any company asking you any information or giving you a website to log on to about your information or accounts, hang up immediately and call the company directly. Ask them about it and you will get a definite, "Don’t do it!" response from the real people. Banks and any other reputable company will never contact you to ask for information.
Microsoft has even put out messages reporting support scams that are supposedly coming from them. Like all of these scams the scammer may not have a lot of technical information, but rather a smooth talking trickster which plays on the general public’s fear. They will tell you things like they just received a warning that your computer has been hacked or invaded.
We used to call these folks, "flimflam artists." In today’s vernacular they would be called scammers.
There is even one for corporate environments called, "tailgating." Many companies have very strict rules regarding tailgating which can end an employee’s career if they allow it. This usually involves companies with an electronic keyless entry system; however, it can be used with regular keyed locks too. You, being regular employee, come to work and use your key to get in. An honest looking "employee" whom you do not know walks up along behind you and you let them enter the building with you. You have just been tailgated into the building by someone who should not be there.
Being careful should be everyone’s number one priority today.