Microsoft Defender Scam: If you're browsing the web and suddenly a Microsoft Defender alert appears and encourages you to call "Microsoft" right away to fix an issue, do not click on any links or call any phone numbers. This is a common scam occurring today and when you call the number, it opens the door for another fraudster impersonating a bank representative to coerce you out of large amounts of money.
If you encounter a Microsoft Defender scam, it is crucial to report it immediately. Visit the official Microsoft website and follow their guidelines for reporting scams. Link is found below in our rotating banner.
Cybercrime is a means of criminal activities carried out on computers or the Internet.
The most common examples of cybercrime are via email fraud, Internet fraud, identity fraud, and theft of financial or card payment data. Approximately 90,000 people are affected by cybercrimes per month in the US. Presently, the US has the highest rate of cybercrime, over 23.6% more than any other country. Cybercrime increased drastically in 2021 from $3.86 million to $4.24 million, the highest in the past 17 years.
One of the most common cyberattacks for corporations is Ransomware. Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. Approximately 37% of global organizations said they were the victim of some form of ransomware attack in 2021, according to International Data Corporation’s “2021 Ransomware Study.”
Payment fraud is a growing problem. In 2020 $28.5 billion was lost worldwide due to credit card fraud and almost one-quarter of all digital interactions in 2020 were attempted frauds with 393,000 Americans reported being a victim of credit card scams.
Ways to prevent cybercrime and payment fraud include using a full-service Internet security suite, strong passwords, keeping your software up to date, keep your credit cards safe, don’t allow websites to “remember” your card number, review your monthly bill, and keep up to date with major security breaches.
For more information on how you can protect yourself against cybercrime click here.
