Theres some great tips in here. Something I would add is in the process of changing your passwords - try to do so from a different device that you clicked the link on. So if you clicked the link in an email on your desktop computer, change you email password immediately from a smartphone or iPad (or vice versa). This is an added precaution just in case a hacker has compromised your device with some malware.
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Good article. I used Malwarebytes for years in my work as an IT Manager for a medium-sized business. On my home computers I have the "Premium" version. If it's good for scanning and removal, it's good for preventing infection in the first place. Modern malware is almost impossible to remove, so prevention is the best cure. I think your advice about having a professional fix the problem is best. They understand topics like "running Windows in Safe Mode with Networking", which will allow you to update a scanner's database and run a scan, without the malware also running. They may also have updated scanning software on removable media that can be employed. But the biggest thing, as you say, is don't click on this crap to begin with! As Andy Grove, founder of Intel, said: "only the paranoid survive"!
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I am being bombarded by scam emails via my iPad. Thankfully they all arrive into my junk email folder so I can either forward them to the police (there is a dedicated email address for this) if demanding money or just delete them. I have had every supermarket chain telling me I had won their £1000 gift card, I am a bitcoin millionaire, and I have been headhunter by a well known recruitment agency. Please everyone don't click on these, trash/ delete every time. Carefully scroll to the bottom of the email there is a faint address there of who's sent them it will always say AliceOffersYou. It's a scam.
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Clicking on a phishing scam links can be a real headache. One way to defend yourself from them is by using the free Chrome extension Scam Block Plus (available on Chrome web store) that prevents phishing links from harming you, even though you have clicked on them, because they will not be able to know, access and abuse your personal data.
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Thanks!
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Thank you. I did this once. I had ordered from Amazon. The next day, I got an email from Amazon saying that there was a problem with my payment. Click on the link to re-do it. I did. The link popped open to the log-in page, and then straight to the payment, which I filled out - mailing address and credit card info. Every time I tried to hit SUBMIT, it wouldn't move to the next stage. So, I figured that there was something wrong with my credit card. I immediately called the card company.... The agent was quite friendly when he answered the phone. Boy, after I told him what happened, his voice hardened and made me feel so small and dumb. He immediately cancelled my card and issued a new one.

I immediately changed my email password, opened a new one, transferred all my files from the old email to the new one, logged into all online accounts and changed my email address. I also emailed the phishing email to Amazon.

I wish I read this article at the time. I don't have a malware program on my computer. (But I think I'd better get one...) Nor did I clean my laptop. I'm going to keep a file on this for future reference.
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