Beware of Technical Support.
Yesterday I spent a great deal of time trying to learn why some of my E-mail messages are being lost in cyberspace. Where are they going? Why are they disappearing?
I checked my computer and the connections. No problems that I could find.
I called AT&T, my service provider. The Customer Service/Technical Support staffer could not be understood. I had to ask over and over that the information be repeated. I had to repeat very easily understood information multiple times and still the person did not understand.
This happened on more than one phone call.
Once I was transferred to a “second level” support person, who likewise spoke very poor English.
Once the person asked for my Social Security number. I refused to give it, saying there was no reason to request it. After denying to give it serveral times, finally the person continued.
Later, the support person wanted me to let him log onto my computer. I refused.
Who is this person? Where is this person? What information would he download without my knowledge?
He said that he could not help me without doing this.
I asked what it would entail.
He told me that I would have to download and install Active X software, which would give him access to my computer.
Funny. He was speaking clearly and also understood me clearly at this point.
No way!
No way in the world!
How many people have had their information stolen by such support people?
I don’t know, but I am not going to find out first hand.
When I demanded to know where this support person was located, he said that he was in San Antonio, Texas. He sounded Indian to me, but then he may have been an illegal alien from almost anywhere, hired by AT&T.
But this really is not the point.
Should I give such trust to someone I don’t know? Should I give such a person absolute and unrestricted access to my computer? Should I entrust that level of control to anyone?
Should you?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment