# My mother was scammed by a tech support person **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2021, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-was-scammed-by-a-tech-support-person/945510 "2021-07-02T14:33:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2021, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-was-scammed-by-a-tech-support-person/945510/21 "2021-07-02T17:23:23Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Are you suggesting that I can’t call her at 123-456-7890? > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > [@running\_coach](#): > > > > That profile pic is on just about every scam support site in existence. One would imagine she’s _hella_ busy … ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2021, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-was-scammed-by-a-tech-support-person/945510/22 "2021-07-02T18:45:10Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > You have to have a password to access your Windows desktop before Chrome will ask for one. I don’t recall, but I don’t think this is configurable. If you don’t have a Windows password, there’s no password for Chrome. If you do, there is. The Chrome password is independent of your Windows one, so if you don’t have a Windows password, it does not open up Chrome to the user. It will go into your email (since Chrome stores that), but if you try to look up stored passwords in Chrome, it asks for your password again. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2021, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-was-scammed-by-a-tech-support-person/945510/23 "2021-07-02T20:00:43Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Do you think the scammer left a trail on purpose or was just incompetent? Why did the scammer only take $250? They probably figured $250 was about the threshold at which most people don’t bother contacting the authorities. As for not covering their tracks, they probably just don’t have to. Or maybe they’ll attempt a repeat breach later on to see if their victim has changed their passwords, and if not they do more serious damage. Surely they’re counting on those that fall for the scam to be less tech-savvy than most. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-was-scammed-by-a-tech-support-person/945510/24 "2021-07-02T21:52:12Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Yeah, I’ll do this as soon as I see her today. Chrome doesn’t even make you enter the Windows password – I was able to see her passwords from Chrome settings just by clicking the eyeball. Terrible. It should if she actually has a password set up for her computer. If you have a local account (not a Microsoft account) not having a password is actually safer, as it means people cannot remotely log into to the computer—at least, not without getting you to download other software. As for advice: report the site to Google to get the site off their search results, as well as to other places: > **[Where to report Online Scams, Spam and Phishing websites?](https://www.thewindowsclub.com/report-scams-phishing-spam)** > > Report Online Scams, Spam, Hoaxes, Unsafe, Malicious, Phishing sites to US Govt, Microsoft, Google, FTC, Scamwatch, Symantec & law enforcement agencies. This post gives all the links. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-was-scammed-by-a-tech-support-person/945510/25 "2021-07-02T22:00:00Z")
OP: Do PayPal and Amazon have “quick checkout”, where you don’t have to enter your payment info each time you purchase something? If so, you should have your mother disable that option. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-was-scammed-by-a-tech-support-person/945510/26 "2021-07-02T22:09:47Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > They probably figured $250 was about the threshold at which most people don’t bother contacting the authorities. Also, small enough that maybe it won’t trip automated anti-fraud measures from banks or card issuers, and might be overlooked by people who aren’t really diligent about their finances. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2021, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-was-scammed-by-a-tech-support-person/945510/27 "2021-07-03T10:57:49Z")
I did one better – I changed her passwords, got rid of her auto-logins, and logged her out on her computer. She doesn’t have a Windows password set up, and if I did and she had a problem, I couldn’t help her remotely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-mother-was-scammed-by-a-tech-support-person/945510.md?page=1)