There is a lot of talk about people being taken away from their computers to recover data from computer attacks. What should I do if this happens to me?
Service-public.fr's response:
A fake tech scam is one of the scams you can be exposed to when you visit an infected website or open a malicious attachment in a message. Cybermalligence.gouv.fr explains.
The fake tech scam is a scam that scams the victim into contacting a so-called official tech support. A pseudo repairman then tries to convince her to let him take control of his machine to pretend to troubleshoot it while he settles him software allowing him to access the contents of the computer.
The victim can be contacted by SMS, telephone, email, instant messaging, or see a message appear on the screen of his computer, tablet or smartphone that informs him of a serious problem (failure, virus, expired software license...) and that asks him to call back a technical support number that seems official, otherwise he loses all his data or can no longer use his hardware.
How to protect yourself?
Apply system and software security updates settled on your machine on a regular and systematic basis.
Keep your antivirus software up to date and activate your firewall. Ensure that only legitimate applications and services are being passed through;
Avoid unsafe or illegal sites (such as those that host fakes: music, movies, software...) or certain pornographic sites that can infect your machine or host dubious advertising boards;
Do not settle an application or program
pirates
or whose origin or reputation is suspect;
Don't use an account with rights
administrator
to view your messages or browse the internet;
Do not open e-mails, their attachments, or click links from strings of messages, unknown senders, or a known sender that has an unusual or empty message structure.
Make regular backups of your data and system so that you can reinstall it in its original state;
Please be aware that no official technical support will contact you to ask for money.
What if you are a victim?
Do not respond to solicitations and never call the given number;
Keep all the evidence (take a picture of your screen, for example);
Close the browser and restart it without restoring the session. If necessary, force the browser to close (press Ctrl, Alt, and Delete simultaneously, then open Task Manager, select the browser, and click
Task Finish
). Delete cookies and reset settings;
Uninstall any new suspicious apps on your device;
Do a thorough virus scan of your machine;
If a fake technician has taken control of your machine, uninstall the remote management protocol and/or program, and change all your passwords. In case of doubt or if you are unable to regain control of your equipment by yourself, you can call on a provider listed on cybermalligence.gouv.fr;
If you have provided your bank or credit card details, oppose without delay. If a payment is debited to your account, demand the refund indicating that you are filing a complaint and calling your bank;
If you have been contacted by a false technical support, report the facts to the relevant official support and to the services of the Ministry of the Interior on its platform internet-signaling.gouv.fr;
File a complaint with the police station or the gendarmerie brigade, or by writing to the prosecutor of the Republic on which you depend. If necessary, have a specialist lawyer assist you.
