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I got a call from a call centre today which convinced me that they were calling from BT. They made me download TeamViewer which was unresponsive so I downloaded supermo instead. After this they gained access to my computer and asked me to login into my online banking. However I realised that they gained access onto my laptop as the mouse was moving so I logged out of my internet banking and immediately changed all my passwords and username using my tablet. I then closed down the supermo app that they made me download and I can see that no one is controlling the mouse.

After closing this app can the hackers still control my laptop? Could they see and control what I am doing on other devices even if I haven't downloaded the supermo app on these devices?

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    Seems to be more like a Tech support scammer than hackers! Commented Apr 13, 2019 at 16:35

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Firstly, well done for realising that you were in the middle of falling for a scam. Changing your online banking details immediately on another device was wise.

After closing this app can the hackers still control my laptop?

Probably not. But it is possible, if they were able to install additional software on your computer while they had access. (Since you could see everything on the screen while this happened it's not likely, but it's not impossible.)

Most scams like this one are not using sophisticated hacking tools and techniques, just good ol' fashioned confidence tricks and scams. Most, but not all. If you are genuinely concerned, back up your personal files and documents and reformat your computer. (Yes, that's the best way to be sure, even if it's inconvenient. You effectively gave a malicious person complete access to your computer as if they were you, even if only briefly.)

Could they see and control what I am doing on other devices...?

No. Even if your home computer is compromised, if your bank has half-decent security practices at all, then the connection between your tablet and your bank should be secure. (Email is a notable exception to this -- anything you send or receive in an actual email can be intercepted by an attacked who could be bothered, but hopefully you didn't use email to change your username and password.)

Other things to worry about: If the scammers asked you any "verification" questions like a bank etc would ("Can you confirm for me the last four digits of your social security number/the number on the back of your credit card/your date of birth?" etc), then you are now at serious risk of identity theft, especially since they now know your bank, bank account details, balances, recent transactions, everything that was visible on your screen.

Either way, you must contact your bank to inform them, and change your security/verification questions to something that cannot be answered from the information they now have, or found out about you online (any information online, you are now extremely easy to find for them). Often identity theft is the real goal of these scams, because it's much more lucrative than just tricking you into giving them money once or twice.

Once again, well done for shutting the scam down partway through. Best of luck.

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  • Thank you so much for your help. And no k did not reveal any card details to them or any other information so I believe that I should be fine or safe( I hope), once again thanks for the help
    – benedicta
    Commented Apr 13, 2019 at 23:15
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    @benedicta Even if you believe you are safe, contact your bank anyway. This will help you if you do end up being a victim. Banks require you contact them if you expect that there may be fraud, and if you don't, then they might not be as lenient with you in the worst case.
    – forest
    Commented Apr 14, 2019 at 3:30
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    @benedicta, I just want to echo and reinforce what forest said here. I realise that the way I phrased my answer might make it seem like you should contact you bank only if you gave any additional information, that was not what I meant to imply. Contacting your bank and informing them of what has happened is absolutely crucial for your protection. With the information they have seen on your screen, there's a good chance they can trick a bank employee into believing they're you even without answering additional security questions. Please, contact your bank.
    – Johnny
    Commented Apr 14, 2019 at 8:35
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    I did contact my bank immediately after logging out of my internet Banking. So that has been done. But thank you once again for your comment and advice
    – benedicta
    Commented Apr 16, 2019 at 23:06

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