GREENSBORO, NC – Hackers have found a way to take over your smartphone in an attempt to scam you out of your own money.
A message has been found popping up on people’s cell phones – accusing them of viewing child pornography!
This could happen to anyone.
WFMY News 2 found out because it happened to our reporter, Ben Powell.
Powell got an alert claiming he was accused of viewing child pornography and other pornography related items.
The message claimed that if he didn’t pay a $500 fine, he would go to jail!
Powell knew right away something was wrong so, he contacted his cell phone provider who confirmed it was in fact, a scam.
It’s a virus called ransomware and Kevin Hinterberger, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central North Carolina says anyone with a smartphone can be the next target.
“I would definitely call it a scam,” said Hinterberger. “Basically, if you see something on your phone, on your mobile device, or your computer and they are making accusations and they are demanding that you pay some type of money to avoid criminal prosecution, you need to take your time. It’s most likely a scam.”
The virus locks your phone, holding it hostage, so to speak.
The message claims that the only way to unlock your phone is to pay them $500 using a PayPal account.
“It’s something that has been in the news recently,” said Hinterberger. “You’ve seen the Subway spokesperson be accused of this and it’s typically when there are recent news events, then you will see these kinds of scams, because it’s top of mind for people.”
Hinterberger says even if you pay the fine, there’s no guarantee that the hackers will unlock your phone.
According to Hinterberger, the worst part is that the scammers could gain access to your personal information and take advantage of you in the future.
“The real threat here if they get control of your mobile device for your computer and they put some type of virus in there, they can use that device at a later date for something else,” he said.
We hit the streets to ask what you would do if this happened to you.
“I mean I would’ve reported that,” said Cindy Rhodes. “That way if there’s any question of the law, I would have somebody to give me some feedback.”
“Hackers are getting so experienced that you just never know,” said Jeannette McLean. “It’s just a plot to scam people out of money and I would turn it over to my carrier as well as police so that they can be aware because some of these scams can get very aggressive.”
“I probably would contact the police because you know how your phone is almost like our lives these days and all of our information and stuff is in there,” said Joniah Hines.
The bottom line is to be careful and question anything you see that resembles a scam message on your phone or your computer, for that matter.
“You are doing with individuals that are very unscrupulous,” said Hinterberger. “(They’re)Trying to take advantage of you. I wouldn’t believe anything they say.”
The FBI will never send you a pop up notice on your smart phone asking you to pay a fine for child pornography.
Another tip to remember — try downloading a mobile security app.
Many are free, but make sure to check the ratings before downloading.
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