Avast (LSE:AVST), a global leader in digital security and privacy, reports tech support fraud remains a massive issue in the U.S. According to Avast Threat Labs, users in the United States are most frequently attacked by technical support fraud.
The COVID pandemic accelerated this concerning global trend, particularly in the United States and Canada. According to the FBI, tech support fraud was one of the top three crime trends in 2020. As more people began relying on the internet for everyday pursuits, this illicit activity increased by over 171 percent from 2019. These scams are particularly insidious as they disproportionately prey on susceptible populations, including those over 60 years of age. Worse still, although seniors make up 66 percent of the victims of tech support fraud, they shoulder a disproportionate amount of the losses at 84 percent in the U.S., which translated to $116 million in 2020.
How Tech Support Scams Work
Tech support scams happen when fraudsters use scare tactics to trick innocent individuals into purchasing overpriced and unnecessary “support services” to fix an alleged computer, device, or software problem. They convince victims that their computer has been infected by malware; a window will pop up, alerting the user of a malware or spyware infection on their computer, and that their only recourse is to call a phone hotline for technical support. Once on the phone, scammers try to convince the callers to establish a remote connection to their computer and sometimes download a second remote management software without the user knowing to keep up a constant connection to the user’s PC.
Once granted access, bad actors can also install malware, or other malicious programs that damage the data housed on devices, or even worse, harvest personal information. Criminals with access to this type of sensitive data can leverage it to gain entry into financial accounts, health records, or other essential services. In addition, fraudsters go to great lengths to convince victims of their legitimacy, including creating web pages that imitate antivirus or firewall software warnings or even setting up fake companies to validate their con.
Avast (LSE:AVST), a global leader in digital security and privacy, reports tech support fraud remains a massive issue in the U.S. According to Avast Threat Labs, users in the United States are most frequently attacked by technical support fraud.
The COVID pandemic accelerated this concerning global trend, particularly in the United States and Canada. According to the FBI, tech support fraud was one of the top three crime trends in 2020. As more people began relying on the internet for everyday pursuits, this illicit activity increased by over 171 percent from 2019. These scams are particularly insidious as they disproportionately prey on susceptible populations, including those over 60 years of age. Worse still, although seniors make up 66 percent of the victims of tech support fraud, they shoulder a disproportionate amount of the losses at 84 percent in the U.S., which translated to $116 million in 2020.
