Our team at Leigh Hilton wants to look out for the best interests of our loyal clients and their families. This includes what we do best: estate planning and elder law. But we also share important information that may not fall under that umbrella, yet is equally important for protecting everyone you love and everything you own. A perfect example is the seemingly endless list of internet scams, most recently led by a fake CAPTCHA scam.

You have likely seen random CAPTCHA checks when you visit certain websites. Before you can view the page, a box pops up asking you to click a series of images that show something simple, like bikes, stairs, or buses.

The goal is to make sure you are not a robot. Go figure.

Sadly, those same CAPTCHA checks are now being used in a growing scam that turns a basic security check into a malware trap. Fox News calls it CAPTCHAgeddon. We will not go that far, but we definitely want you to know about it.

How CAPTCHA Scams Work

By writing this, we are not trying to say all CAPTCHA checks are suddenly bad news. Quite the contrary: there is nothing wrong with them if they are trying to protect online platforms and their users. The problem arises when a request to click a few images turns into a set of instructions that trick you into downloading and executing malware on your computer that steals basic passwords, browser login sessions, autofill data, and more.

In an instant, the bad guys potentially have access to bank accounts and other sensitive data.

And it keeps working silently in the background, unbeknownst to you or a loved one.

A Real CAPTCHA Will Never …

1. Ask you to open a separate window
2. Ask you to use keyboard shortcuts like Windows + R
3. Instruct you to paste or run commands

If you are instructed to do anything other than check or click a few images, close the page immediately.

Why We Are Sharing This With You

We want to protect you and your loved ones, of course! Beyond that, however, it is important to see up close (not too up close, though) just how fast online threats are evolving in today’s tech-driven landscape. You can say that scammers have nothing better to do with their lives but prey on innocent people, and that is true—but they are incredibly smart, and they are getting smarter by the day.

Even people who pride themselves on being “in the know” and “un-dupable” are getting tripped up in a single moment of trust that leads to a full compromise of everything that is most important to them.

So with that being said, how can you stay safe? Start by …

1. Never let a website tell you what to do, especially if it includes running or pasting commands.
2. If something doesn’t look or feel right, simply leave the page. Don’t click anything else.
3. Maintain strong antivirus software on your personal computers.
4. Keep your antivirus software and overall computer systems up to date.
5. Change passwords often, even if they have not been compromised.
6. Keep a watchful eye on your financial accounts for suspicious activity.
7. If something feels off, it probably is.

Call Leigh Hilton PLLC Today!!

Having a competent attorney in your corner will help you and your family navigate the often overwhelming waters of protecting everything you own and everyone you love. That is our job, and we think we do it better than anyone else. Call Leigh Hilton PLLC so we can help ensure you and your family are taken care of in the best possible way.

Leigh Hilton PLLC wants to be your first call every time for any estate planning need. We look forward to serving you.