Oxfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards team is warning people about conmen who are cold calling residents and claiming that their computers are infected with viruses which they can fix.
The number of complaints received by Trading Standards has risen in the last month with 23 people reporting the scam since the beginning of December.
These conmen often say they work for Microsoft or Windows, although many different names are used. They will know the victim’s name and address and will suggest that their computer is at serious risk from the viruses or “malware” with which it is “infected”.
Stealing information
They may ask the consumer to shut down and re-start the computer or direct them straight to a program called “Windows Event Viewer”. This will list errors, some of which will be labelled “critical”. In fact, there is nothing wrong with the computer and the program is simply being used to con the victim into thinking they have a problem.
If the consumer falls for the scam, they will then be directed to a website to download a program which will allow the caller to control the computer to “fix” it. All that is actually happening is that the conmen are being given access to all the data stored on the computer, which could include personal, banking and identity information.
The caller will then demand payment for the so-called service provided. The victim will be asked for a direct debit or credit card payment and may also be asked to sign up to a direct debit payment scheme for ongoing “protection”. If they refuse to pay, the criminal on the other end of the phone may threaten to crash their computer. Trading Standards has received reports of up to £240 being demanded as a one off payment.
Tip of the iceberg
In July 2010, the Metropolitan Police closed down 19 websites being used by such fraudsters, but the problem appears to be on the increase again, certainly in Oxfordshire.
Lists of names, telephone numbers and addresses are marketed internationally and call centres, particularly in India, make thousands of these calls, preying on unsuspecting computer users. Trading Standards has also received reports in the past where these scam callers have contacted people who do not own a Windows computer or who don’t even own a computer at all.
Richard Webb, Deputy Head of Oxfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards, said: “If you do receive a telephone call like this, we advise you to hang up straight away. If you have noted the caller’s telephone number or have been given a trader name or website address before you hang up, please report the call to Trading Standards at 0845 051 0845 or trading.standards@oxfordshire.gov.uk.”