The scam of technical support is rampant in the US, but how do the scammers get the phone numbers? And how you can save yourself, especially the elderly from it.

If you are a resident of the US, chances are you have also encountered an odd call claiming to be a tech-support guy with a weird accent claiming that your computer is in danger or your bank account is going to be seized or a fraudulent activity is on-going in your computer!

Well, you are not the only one. A study reveals that around 80% of the US, Canada residents have received a scam call in the last one or two years. And the probability that this call has been placed from India is a whopping 90%.

Image of a call center being raided by the local police authorities near Delhi, India.

But why do the Indians do it? Lack of employment, easy money, pleasure, poverty, greed, Lack of moral education and many other reasons that tech support scams are rampant everywhere in India. It may be noted that China, being populous faces the same situations such as poverty and lack of employment. However, there are minimal reports of scam calling centres being run from China.

Coming back on the topic, how do they get the phone numbers? Well, the answer is a bit complicated. There are a lot of directories available on the dark web where the private information of any US resident is freely sold for around $5 to $10 per person. It contains the phone numbers, addresses, bank account details, social media accounts etc.

Image of multiple scam call centers being run in India.

But where do they get this information? Unfortunately a lot of businesses we sign up on sell their data for hundreds and thousands of dollars for this information. Yes, you read that right. Our information is available everywhere on the internet and there is hardly anything we can do about it except to be careful while signing up for anything.

Also there are multiple hackers out there who steal information from legit organisations like banks, government websites etc and sell this info to the marketers and tele-callers and scammers alike. Again, nothing we can do about that.

Since most of the people are somewhat aware of this scam, they do not fall for this. However, these scammers cleverly target the elderly population who are ignorant of the technology and fall prey to the scams easily.

Indeed, prevention is better than cure. So we should spread awareness to the not-so tech-savvy or the older generation and make them understand that giving out personal information, bank information, passwords, sharing of screens should be done carefully after having full trust. Also to not fall for baits such as your computer is at risk or your data is breached. Also, the scammers prefer buying the gift cards

Since people are getting more and more aware of scams like these, it is a matter of time that these shops in the alleys are shut for good! The government also needs to step in and spread awareness among the elderly to not fall for these scams especially when they call with the fake accents!

Always remember, Be alert, be safe!