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The Fake ISP Call Scam-How to Prevent It?

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Phone scams are on the rise these days. The internet is full of news, with people falling an easy victim in the scammers’ hands. The fraudsters use persuasive tactics to trick innocent people. Because of awareness, many people are aware of internet-related scams these days. People are now aware of the Microsoft tech support scams in which a pop-up message appears on the victim’s screen and encourages them to call on a toll-free number and later lose money.

 Besides the tech support scams, refund scams and Amazon scams are quite common. Nowadays, the fake ISP call scam is widespread. Many broadband users often report that they’re getting contacted by scammers who claim to be from their broadband company. They trick the users and steal money from their bank account. 

To know more about the fake ISP call scam and how to prevent it? We’ve compiled this article for our readers. Let’s jump into this article and get more insight into the topic.

What is a Fake ISP Call Scam?

In a fake ISP call scam, the target receives a call from the ISP who claims that somebody else uses their internet connection. Your modem is about to expire, your internet connection will stop working, or your IP address router has been compromised. 

The automated caller will then ask you if you want to fix the issue, press 1 to continue. The victim who gets confused follows the instructions and then gets connected with a scammer on the other side who pretends to represent your ISP company.

These callers don’t always call you from a call center. They might sit in their home comfort zone and then contact you. These callers might look like they can do anything to offer you help. But they aren’t interested in that, all they want is your money.

As the call proceeds, at some point, they ask for remote access to your computer or your password or bank account details to steal money from it. 

How Fake ISP Scam Works?

The scam starts with a representative calling any random resident and claiming to be an ISP company member. They can name the company like Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, Service Electric, or any other.

The scammer claims that some illegal activities are taking place from your IP address. They might give you other reasons as well, like the ones mentioned above. The representative confuses and scares the average customer who doesn’t possess enough technical knowledge by using tech-savvy words. The target further gets scared and starts panicking when they receive a scareware warning on their device.

The scammers ask the victim to follow the instructions as they told them and, after some steps, take remote access to their computer. At first, they say that their services are free, but later they’ll ask for payment. It is also possible that they might sell some fake security products and ask for money in return.

In some other situations, the scammer might ask you to give away your private information like your passwords, bank account details to steal money from it. Watch out for this video, and you can have a better idea of how these scams work. 

Quick Signs to Detect the Fake ISP Call Scam

Before you do anything to prevent yourself from the ISP call scams, it is essential to know if it’s a calling scam? Think about it for a minute; how can you identify an ISP calling scam? Well! To make things easier for you, below are some signs you can detect a fake ISP calling scam. The signs include:

  • The ISP doesn’t call their customers ever. It’s the users’ who contact them, and the customer service staff members deal with the situation.
  • Your ISP doesn’t need to ask for your information to verify your identity. They have all the relevant data stored in the database.
  • Your modem never expires. It might get outdated but doesn’t expire. If your modem isn’t functioning correctly, you’ll be the one who experiences a connection issue and contacts your ISP, not your ISP.
  • Remember, no one can use your internet account provided by your ISP from any other location. So, if the caller says things like that, believe it to be a scammer.
  • You can also ask them some questions like anything related to your router to see if they can answer it or not. If they can’t, then it’s a confirmed indication that they are scammers who’re pretending to be a representative of your broadband company.

How to Protect Yourself From ISP Call Scams?

The following mentioned below are some of the useful tips to protect yourself from the increasing ISP call scams:

  • Visit the official website of the broadband company you are using. Look for any advice or information regarding how to recognize and prevent scammers.
  • Please don’t share your financial or other banking-related details with an unknown caller who says that they represent your broadband company and seek payment from you.
  •  Do not give anyone remote control of your device. The person on the call might say that by installing a program on your device, the issue will be resolved but be cautious because it’s a scam.
  • If you are doubtful, hang up and directly call your service provider’s customer service call center to confirm if the caller is legitimate. 
  • One of the best ways to protect yourself from such a scam is to use the best call blocking apps. Such apps work best at identifying who’s calling you and even block all those calls that are spam and robotic.
  • Be aware of the latest emerging scams and threats. It will help if you are educated enough to identify such scams and know ways of avoiding them. 
  • Don’t open any suspicious links or attachments you receive in the emails or the caller asks you to do.
  • Don’t trust the caller ID or the official email address. They are not a sign of authenticity because scammers can make a duplicate one as well.
  • Report to the concerned authorities about the fraud. Tell them about all the information the scammer uses so the data can be used for further investigation. 

What Should You Do If You’ve Been Scammed?

If you have responded to the scam calls and realizes your mistake soon, then you should take the following crucial steps:

  • If you receive any message on your device, then contact an IT expert and get things fixed.
  • Change your passwords on all accounts, and for more robust security, start using the best password managers.
  • If you’ve provided your bank account details, contact your bank, inform them about the scam, and ask for a solution.
  • If you opened any suspicious link onto your device or installed any software program as per the caller’s instructions, open your antivirus software and run a full scan on your device. For this, you must have reliable antivirus software on your device. 

Parting Words

With the ever-changing security landscape, scammers are also adopting smart tactics. The fake ISP calling scams are one of them. They pretend to call from the ISP’s company and later fool the target and grab money from them. It is high time for the users to be vigilant and aware of the cybersecurity world’s latest threats and happenings. They should remain updated and be knowledgeable enough to detect such scams and take the appropriate actions against them.

Follow the tips mentioned above and prevent yourself from the fake ISP call scam.

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