As tax season is upon us I thought it would be helpful to discuss an issue that I get frequent calls on, scammers. As I have discussed before here, Tech Support Scammers!, scammers are out in full force trying to scam you of your hard earned money. Some helpful tips to ensure you stay safe:

  1. Tech support companies will NEVER contact you letting you know you have a problem.
  2. If a company does contact you, tell them you will call them back and look up the companies number, ensuring you are talking to who you think you are
    1. Remember, its very easy for scammers to make it look like they are calling from your bank, or any other business.
  3. NO BUSINESS WILL TAKE PAYMENT IN GIFT CARDS, this is one hundred and fifty percent a scam!
  4. DO NOT let any business remotely access your computer unless you have verified they are who they say they are. Its best to work with a local company in this case if you need remote support.

Remember, stay vigilant and never take anything over the phone or internet at face value. As our old friend used to say, “trust but verify”.

Stay safe!