WARNING.... Phone scams are back....

Just thought I’d try and be helpful by letting you know that a phone scam from a couple of years ago is back again… This could cost you anything from £100 to £1000.

The Scam:

A company purports to be either Microsoft or a Microsoft Partner and then tells you the customer that they have been informed that your computer is infected with a virus and running slow… They then ask you to go to your computer and they can show you proof by accessing the “event log” which would normally contain errors. The errors they claim are virus related and your computer needs to be cleaned.

The customer will then either be told to access the companies website and allow then to take control of the computer and then ask for the customers credit card details to take a payment and / or signs them up for a maintenance contract.

We would recommend you to tell the calling company that they don’t own a computer and hang up.

References:

Google search : Microsoft phone scam

What the “which” magazine is saying:

http://conversation.which.co.uk/technology/microsoft-phone-scam-cold-calling-protect-yourself

Action Fraud website: “Microsoft has found that thousands of people have received fraudulent phone calls from scammers claiming to be from the company. The fraud is said to cost each victim more than £500. [17 June 2011]” http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/microsoft-reveals-extent-of-phone-scam-june11