Telephone scam targeting home computer users
Description of Potential Fraud:
While not targeting lawyers specifically, you might wish to be aware of a scam currently taking place which involves receiving a phone call informing you that your computer is infected with a virus. The caller may claim to be from Microsoft or a software security company and will offer (in exchange for your credit card number) to install repair software, either by remote access or by directing you to certain websites.
Besides hoping to scam money from unsuspecting computer users, the fraudsters are also hoping to instal malware on your computer to gain access to your financial information.
Here is a press release from the RCMP and Canadian Anti-Fraud Canada. Be on the lookout!
Categories:
Fraud Warnings
March 02, 2012 at 9:24 pm, John said:
That trick is what’s known as the Microsoft Tech Repair Scam, as reported at http://www.callercenter.com. It’s practically an old scam but it resurfaces every now and then with a lot of new twists, but nonetheless, still the same pattern. A scammer calls random phone numbers and tells the victim about a virus that’s infected his computer and that it’s gonna crash the system down. Then the scammer offers to fix it and asks for access to PC. As soon as the victim lets him, he’d either install malwares on the computer or steal stored information from there. Either way, it’s equivalent to money loss.
So be very cautious about taking anonymous incoming calls. When the call start to become suspicious, hang up. Report the phone number at callercenter and alert the authorities. There’s no better way than that.
April 18, 2012 at 2:05 pm, sharon s. said:
I was sucked in by this scam. I bought the software costing me 102.31. The next day I realized I had no new software and called my credot card and had the numbers changed on my cards. That was on April 12. Last night the same scammers called me again. I called the RCMP and they advised me to contact you. Luckily I have no on-line banking.