“If this is your first encounter with this type of sociopathology, the most dangerous thing you can do is think you’re too smart to fall for it,” warns Bob Sullivan, consumer security expert, and host of AARP’s Perfect Scam podcast. But cyber swindler tricks are evolving and becoming more convincing every day. The FTC, FBI, and AARP are also trying to get the word out about it.

It’s gotten so bad, Microsoft and Apple now warn people about various iterations of this scam on their websites. “You know, these people are very good at what they do.” I called the number on the screen, a man answered, “Apple Support,” she pauses and her voice cracks again. I tried to grab it, and when I couldn’t, I figured since it was happening on a Mac, it was real. “There was a cursor running amok on my screen. “I’m so embarrassed,” she tells me through tears. A new version of the old tech support scam But the real danger wasn’t a virus on her computer, it was the man who answered on the other end of the phone. Still, when a giant yellow “alert” covered half of her MacBook Pro screen a few weeks ago, warning her that hackers had taken control of her device and to call the “Apple Support” number on the screen immediately or else.she did just that. She also has an array of built-in tech support experts all around her – including me – her own daughter! My 76-year old mom is an incredibly tech-savvy senior who commands her gadgets more like a Millennial than someone born the same year the ballpoint pen was invented.

Teamviewer scams apple