scam phone calls

Computer Error Scam

April 26, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

Virus Phone Call Scam Alert

After receiving a couple of scam phone calls over the last 2 months, I would like to warn readers about this scam.

The scam involves a random telephone call made to an Australian number from an offshore call centre. A computer is used to do predictive dialing and connect the call, which is characterised by a delay of a few seconds before the other person answers. The caller then claims to be a representative of a software company and requests the recipient to run a program to fix ‘bugs’ in the operating system.

In my cases, the callers have been both male and female with strong foreign accents probably of Indian origin.  The caller advises they are from a reputable Company (Microsoft and Australian Computer Society were given on separate occasions) and insists that have received an error message from my computer telling them the computer is infected with a virus or malware.  The caller attempts to have you run the Windows Event Viewer to identify errors and then they claim they can fix these problems asking for people’s credit card details for the fix.

The best way to deal with these callers is to hang up.

For more information, visit the Australian Government Scam Watch website or www.computerworld.com.au

Computer Error Scam News From Google

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