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Warning as computer fraudsters call users [Edition 3] [Gloucestershire Echo (England)](Gloucestershire Echo (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SCAMMERS are targeting computer users in Gloucester with an elaborate con. Fraudsters have been ringing people up across the county, claiming to represent 'Windows'. The cold callers tell their potential victims something is seriously wrong with their computer and it is about to stop working. They then direct the innocent computer users to websites where the conmen can gain control of their machines. This enables the fraudsters, often based overseas, to install malicious software or potentially gain access to sensitive banking information. After that, they ask for payment. Nigel Freeman, 43, from Gloucester, said he had been contacted three times. He said: The caller told me my computer was infected, asking me how old it was and if I was at my computer. At this point I decided to call his bluff. I said my computer was three days old and using Windows 8 and the latest up-to-date anti-virus software. He insisted my computer could still be infected. I always knew this was a scam and told him so, that no person in their right mind would allow their computer to be accessed by a second party. I politely told him I did not want to speak to him again and hung up. One minute later, the phone rang again and it was the same chap asking why I wouldn't speak to him. I told him that this was a scam and he was a conman. He then swore and told me to shut up. I then hung up. The phone call was from a withheld number. Edward Osicki, director of county-based IT specialists TechOp, said: We have heard of at least five people being called in the last several days. An elderly person walked in off the street really worried that her computer would stop at noon because 'Windows technical department' had detected serious errors in her computer, which if not fixed would mean her computer would just stop working then. We reassured her that it was a scam, and that nothing would happen at noon, unless she let these people have remote access to her computer. They seem to avoid saying they are from Microsoft and Microsoft specifically states that it will never phone Windows users about any problem on their PC. Edward added: We ourselves were phoned, even though we were a specialist computer services company dealing with virus infections on a regular basis, so it sounds as if they are targeting Gloucestershire. HAVE YOU BEEN CALLED BY THE SCAMMERS? gloucestercitizen.co.uk/ news I told him that this was a scam and that he was a conman. NIGEL FREEMAN (c) 2013 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |