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The scams that involve remote access software being used to target devices, one of which was recently used on an area resident.
Police said that a fraudster posing as a customer care executive from Amazon advised the victim that a “fraud alert” has been placed on their account.
The victim acknowledged that they had an Amazon account but did not have the Amazon app on their phone. The fraudster took this opportunity to direct the victim to download a screen-sharing platform, in this case, it was the "Team Viewer: Remote Control" app, police said.
Upon downloading the app a nine-digit code was then populated and was provided to the fraudster. This allowed for the fraudulent caller to gain access to the victims' screen and possibly even recorded information, such as passwords and account numbers.
According to police, at that point, the victim realized it is a scam and hung up.
Police noted that Amazon is not the only company used in these type of crimes, many other popular brand name corporations are used by these criminals to attempt to defraud unsuspected parties.
Police said that in order to avoid becoming a victim, one should:
- Not rely on your caller ID;
- Hang up if someone calls asking for money or personal info;
- Remember authentic customer care executives will never ask you to download apps or send codes;
- Delete any unknown or unwanted apps from your phone;
- Do an online search on the company with the words 'scam,' or 'complaint.'
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