2023-11-16 17:03:13
When black screen rhymes with nightmare. For several weeks, many French and European computer owners have been victims of a scam after their computer screen appeared black.
On this screen there is a message asking victims to call a “0 800” emergency telephone number, which is obviously premium rate. Once on the phone, the very courteous “fake” computer repairers based in Israel offer supposedly free help and take control of the computer to turn it back on, before offering the purchase by credit card of an antivirus for the sum of 300 euros.
The bigger it is, the more it’s acceptable. Indeed, many Europeans have fallen for it since this scam would work for one in ten people, while these very well-organized cybercriminals make thousands of attempts every day, according to Rémi Ausseil, chief brigadier at the Perpignan police station ( Pyrénées-Orientales), contacted by our colleagues from the Independent.
Since the implementation of this scheme, the thugs have managed to extract several million euros which are transferred to a bank account of a company based in Perpignan then to other rebound accounts, to finally be sent to the network heads in Israel.
What to do if you are a victim?
After the discovery of this scam by the French authorities, an investigation was opened and entrusted to the Paris cybercrime prosecutor’s office, which estimates that between 200 and 300 people work in this fake call center. Investigations also showed that these were business leaders who hired cybercriminals.
If this happens to you, the first instinct is not to respond, let alone provide your personal data and disconnect your connection. Once the computer is turned back on, it is advisable to run an antivirus to identify the problem then change your password and choose a strong one to limit the risk of hacking.
If it is already too late, contact your bank to object and file a complaint or make a report on the site cybermalveillance.gouv.fr.
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