Archives 2025

Article (PSA-0031)
Submitted by: Billy Joe Long
Company: PSA Computer Services
Titled: Amazon Centered Scams?

Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world, with millions of customers around the world. The shear volume of Amazon customers presents a rich target base for would be scammers. At their Help & Customer Service webpage, Amazon put out a statement warning their millions of customers about new scams designed to steal their hard earned money. They warned their customers that: “Amazon will never ask you to provide payment information for products or services over the phone … [We will] never ask you to disclose your password or verify sensitive personal information over the phone”

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) says that between July 2020 and June 2021 around 96,000 people were targeted by some type of Amazon related scam resulting in the loss of at least 27,000,000 dollars.

Here is an example of a well known scam:

A scammer pretends to inform you of a problem with your Amazon Prime account. Some include text messages, emails and even phone calls saying that your Amazon account or Prime membership was deleted or suspended. It also includes a fraudulent link to a fraudulent webpage or tries to get members to provide information verbally to “verify” their account. Customers who land on these pages or receive these phone calls are then lured into providing account information such as payment information or account login credentials. You have officially been scammed!

Legitimate Amazon pages contain “amazon.com” or “amazon.com/support”. You need to take a close look at and verify all links first before handing over any information, because what you see may not be the actual destination address. These scammers push a sense of urgency to short circuit any sound reasoning of the victim. Amazon mentions this technique in the following statement, “… scammers will try to create a sense of urgency in a bid to get victims to click a fake link or provide them with information. Be wary any time someone tries to convince you that you must act now.”

The FTC points out that these particular scams are particularly effective against older people, especially those over the age of 60 since they generally did not grow up in the “computer culture”. The FTC stated, “People aged 60 and older were particularly at risk of such scams, while younger people were not.” However, there are many reports indicating 82.9% of young adults have been tricked by suspicious links. As a local IT service provider, I can personally attest that scammers are successfully stealing money from all age groups.

In 2023 there were at-least 202 different “Amazon Prime” related scams reported and another 186 “Amazon” related scams reported.

Here are a couple of the most successful scams to be wary of:

1. “Off-Platform Payments”: As the name states, the customer is encouraged to pay for a product using a payment platform, other than Amazon. This works by an Amazon seller creating an Amazon listing for what appears to be a genuine product, which may even include some faked reviews to legitimize the product. When you try to buy the product the seller will contact you directly with a link to another payment platform in an effort to trick you into making payments using other apps, such as CashApp, Venmo, Zell or through wire transfer services. By using these alternative services to pay, you are forfeiting any “buyer protection” that you would have had by using the Amazon payment platform and you are most likely sending your personal information and credit card information directly to the scammer. If you get scammed this way, there is very little chance of getting your money back and you will have to go through the arduous task of cleaning up the compromised account(s). The best way to prevent getting scammed this way, is to never pay for Amazon products with anything other than the Amazon payment platform … it’s just not worth it!

2. “Phishing Phone Calls”: Variations of this scam are used in the example scam mentioned at the beginning of this article. In this scam a person calls you pretending to be a representative of Amazon and requests personal information from you so you can verify your identity. This is a numbers game. If the scammers call 1,000 people a day, there is a high probability they will reach someone who is waiting on a call back from Amazon support, seeing Amazon Prime has around 220 million members. Once they have your account information, they can sell your information to other scammers or simply use your account to purchase products from Amazon … with your money or Amazon rewards points! The best way to protect yourself from these types of scams, is to develop a personal policy of never giving out personal information over the phone, especially if they are calling you and then requesting personal information.

The internet and services offered through the internet can be very convenient, but they have also become a breading ground for thieves and liars. People sitting behind screens can do things that they may never have considered doing if they had to face the people they are harming. Because of this, we all need to exercise great constraint and common-sense when giving out our personal information and accounts information. If you are not comfortable with what someone is asking you for, end the conversation.

Article (PSA-0030)
Submitted by: Billy Joe Long
Company: PSA Computer Services
Titled: How do antivirus and antispyware work to protect you?

In this article, we’ll talk briefly about how antivirus and antispyware work together to keep your computer safe from potential threats.

1. Real-Time Scanning: Both antivirus and antispyware software continuously monitor your system in real-time. They scan files as they’re downloaded or executed on your computer. If any malware or spyware is found, the software notifies you immediately.

2. Scheduled Scanning: In addition to real-time scanning, these programs can be set to perform systematic scans of all or selected files on your hard drive at specific intervals. This ensures that even hidden threats are detected and dealt with.

3. Signature-Based Detection: Antivirus and antispyware tools use a list of known threats called “definitions” to identify suspicious software. These definitions should update automatically as new threats emerge, ensuring the software stays effective against the latest malware and spyware.

To benefit from these features, it’s essential to have properly licensed, up-to-date antivirus and antispyware programs installed on your computer. Connecting to the internet without adequate protection can expose your system to potential threats.

For those using a Microsoft Windows operating system, antivirus, antispyware and firwall software are included at no additional cost and do not require a subsciption. Additionally, the software is updated during automatic Windows updates, ensuring you always have the most up-to-date threat definitions.

In summary, using reputable antivirus and antispyware software is crucial in safeguarding your computer from malicious programs. Always ensure these tools are up-to-date and functioning properly to maintain the best level of protection possible. No home or business computer should be without malware protection. These important applications, coupled with a healthy dose of common sense, are the key components to protecting your computers and networks from malware.

If you would like more information or have a specific question concerning PC security, call (707) 506-6802 to speak with a technician.

Article (PSA-0029)
Submitted by: Billy Joe Long
Company: PSA Computer Services
Titled: The Current Computer Security Landscape

The Internet is a very dangerous place. Computer security threats are a very real concern for any business or home that uses a computer. Symantec, a computer security provider, reported that ransomware attacks spiked in October 2023 and the number of organizations affected by ransomware was 66% more than a year earlier. Ransomware continues to be one of the most lucrative forms of cyber crime and, as such, remains a critical threat for organizations of all sizes as well as home based computer users.

So why is there so much malware, and what is the point? It comes down to money. As our society becomes more reliant on computers and mobile devices, we become more vulnerable to thieves extorting us out of our money. Locking you out of your devices and demanding money to unlock it or stealing and selling your personal information, such as banking and credit card information, is a huge money making industry. These attackers not only steal information, but once they have compromised a computer system, they can use it to attack others, and perform other illegal activities – masquerading as you!

Methods for infecting computers with ransomware and other malware are often quite sophisticated. Symantec says, “The main infection vector for ransomware is no longer botnets – instead, it is the exploitation of known vulnerabilities in public facing applications. Except for the ransomware payload iteself, attackers are increasingly eschewing malware while carrying out attacks. Many of the tools attackers use are legitimate software, either dual-use tools or operating system features. Windows operating system components are the most widely used legitimate software (so-called living off the land) used by attackers”.

Other types of legitimate tools used by attackers include remote desktop, remote administration and remote support tools. The web is also an absolute quagmire of malicious intent. Malicious payloads can spread through, what appear to be, legitimate emails, legitimate files, links, and websites. To make matters even worse, would be attackers can easily obtain “attack toolkits,” for free or purchased from the internet – making cybercrime easy and inexpensive to commit. Criminials now have access to advanced tools, such as templates for extortion attacks enabling them to exploit zero-day vulnerabilities in enterprise software. This allows the attacker to steal data from multiple organizations at once, netting itself a huge pool of victims from a single attack campaign.

It’s important for all computer users to have a basic understanding of these threats and to learn how to protect themselves. This series of short articles will provide an overview of malware threats, suggestions for infection prevention using available tools and a healthy dose of common sense. I will also provide you with some basic steps to take if you suspect your computer is infected. But for now lets take a look at malware.

What Is Malware?

The word “malware” is a portmanteau, blended from the words “malicious” and “software.” It is most often used as a catchall term for computer related threats such as viruses, spyware, adware, and other software installed without a user’s consent or knowledge.

Malware can get into your system in a variety of ways. Here is short, not exhaustive, list:

• Infected email attachments
• Infected removable storage such as portable “thumb-drives”
• Downloaded software
• Links in emails, social media websites, or instant messaging applications
• Vulnerabilities in legitimate Windows applications and features

Here are a few categories of malware, again, not exhaustive:

• Viruses are a kind of self-replicating software that can slow down or cripple systems, and destroy or alter data.
• Spyware is software that spies on computer users’ activity to steal passwords, online banking login credentials, and other personal information, typically by using a “keylogger”. A keylogger records the keys you press and sends it back to the attacker.
• Adware displays annoying pop-up ads, which can also contain malicious links.
• Scareware mimics a legitimate antivirus or anti-spyware service, saying a computer has been infected, then encouraging users to download (and pay for) a fake security solution. The downloaded software is usually malicious.
• Ransomware encrypts files on a computer, making them inaccessible until a specified ransom is paid. Ransomware is usually the payload of other malicious activity.
• Botnets are networks of infected computers used for illegal activities, such as sending spam emails or “denial of service” attacks.

Do You Need to Worry About Malware?

So you may be thinking this all sounds scary, but does it really affect me at home or at my place of business? Yes! It is not just large companies or government organizations that need to protect themselves. Anybody, home user or business, can be a victim of malware if not properly informed and protected.

If you are a business, your customers trust you with their personal information. If you are a home user you probably have precious family pictures or important documents stored on your computer. If you’re not taking steps to secure your data, your information is not safe. Information security breaches can have major financial and legal consequences.