I don’t send email “blasts” out very often. However, I felt it was overdue.

I’ve been in this business for 22 years, and plan to continue my tradition

of providing responsive, reliable service, seven days a week to my existing

and new clients.

Although computers and operating systems have become gradually

more reliable over those two decades, some concerns remain.

The number one issue I’m called on to assist with are “scam screens” – urgent

warnings about an alleged virus infection.

They implore you to call a number claiming to be “Microsoft” when in fact it is a phony tech

support call center.  PLEASE – never obey their directives, instead, call me for advice.

It’s usually something I can talk you through resolving in a few minutes.

Please be wary of  inbound phone calls claiming to be from Microsoft or Apple.

These are also scams – please hang up on them.

Also, if you need to call the manufacturer of your device, or computer for tech support,

please be aware that Google searching for their number may lead to a fake company – the scam call centers cleverly “pollute” search results so that you call them instead of the legitimate number.

Here are the actual phone numbers for common computer and device manufacturers:

Apple: 1-800-275-2273

HP:      1-800-407-4005

Canon: 1-800-652-2666

Amazon:  1-888-280-4331

Dell:  1-800-624-9896

I just dialed these numbers to make sure they are current, and legit.

Funny – I misdialed the “Apple” number and reached a fake company!

Note: the fake ones NEVER answer with the name of the firm they

are pretending to be.  Conversely, you’ll never get a generic greeting

from the real ones.

Bonus tip: www.gethuman.com is another way to look up the real

number, plus it has hints for navigating the “phone tree” to get

to a live person more quickly.

Last point: my clients are getting flooded with phony emails

claiming to be from Norton, McAfee, Avast, etc about their

antivirus software expiring.  Never click on the links inside

of these messages.  Look at the sender – usually the scammers

use disposable Gmail, Icloud and Yahoo accounts.

The real ones would end in @mcafee.com, @norton.com, etc…

The bottom line: always feel free to call me at 914-715-5568

if you see something that makes you uneasy.  Likewise,

forward suspicious emails to me at pcventures@gmail.com.

That’s it for now.

Thank you for your patronage over the years, and I look

forward to helping you with your tech needs in the future.

Sincerely,

Aaron Woodin

PC Ventures