Why you should think twice before putting a DVD you were mailed into the computer

5 common scams according to the FBI.Adoption Fraud, Unethical adoption service providers can take advantage to deceive and defraud prospective adoptive parents or birth parents considering adoption. .Charity and Disaster Fraud, Charity and disaster fraud schemes seek donations for organizations that do little or no work.Credit Card Fraud, Unauthorized use of a credit or debit card, or card number, to fraudulently obtain money or property.Identity Theft, Someone assumes your identity to perform a fraud or other criminal act.Ransomware, A type of malicious software, or malware, that prevents you from accessing your computer files, systems, or networks and demands you pay a ransom for their return

Another scam has led officials to issue a warning.

A woman in Maine was sent a DVD from a “friend of a friend” earlier this month. A note on the disc encouraged her to view and share it. She reported it to police, who warned others about it on Facebook.

Yesterday afternoon, a Buxton resident received mail addressed to "a friend" from "a friend". Inside the mail was a CD...

Posted by Buxton Police Department on Thursday, December 2, 2021

“While the police department has not received any other similar calls, we suspect others may have or will receive this type of mail. If you do, please don’t let your curiosity get the best of you, instead immediately dispose of the (DVD),” police said.

“Information gathered from a list of ongoing scams indicates this (DVD) was likely ladened with malware and other programs that can infect a computer and allow hackers to gain access to and steal personal information from the recipient’s computer.”

While no cases have been publicly reported in Georgia, it’s still good to be aware.

The FBI has a list of warnings about other scams, such as ransomeware, which could be what was on the DVD.

To avoid ransomware, the FBI says to keep software and applications up to date. It advices to regularly backup data, double checking that they were complete and securing them. It also says to make sure to run automatic updates for anti-virus and anti-malware solutions.

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