If you get a phone call from a technician (usually with an Indian accent) BEWARE it is a SCAM targeting people in US, Canada and Australia and has been going on for the last two years unabated.
I heard of a business in Perth getting such a call only this week.
Luckily the business person became suspicious and hung up on the caller.
Please do the same and warn your friends.
This is what to expect …. watch the video at the end to listen to the conversation captured live.
1) You receive a call out of the blue from someone claiming to be from (or have a relationship with) Windows or Microsoft and that they have detected a virus on your computer???
2) The caller (usually with an Indian accent) asks you to open Windows Event Viewer on your machine to check if it is infected. Several error messages are listed and this reinforces their claims, even though errors are common and usually harmless. The caller tells you that these are of significant concern and offers to refer you to a ‘technician' who could fix the problem for a fee.
The caller now gives a number of options and the choice of options varies from call to call. They may include one or all of the following:
- You have to install an antivirus program on your computer—typically the kind that you can download for free and charge up to $250 for the service.
- The caller asks for your credit card details but install nothing. Your details might then be sold to other parties or used for fraudulent purposes.
- The caller may get you to download a remote-control program allowing the caller to operate your computer from their terminal. Then they install malware on your computer which may give them access to any passwords, personal or financial details (such as Bank account logins) and your personal details (driving license number, passport number, date of birth etc.) which they sell on the black market.
- There is even a follow-up scam where the scammer falsely claims to be from a foreign government, foreign law enforcement body, or from your bank, and offers to recover the money that you initially lost in the first scam …. for a fee of course.
Here are some links that further detail and warn you of the SCAM
From the ACCC Scam Watch (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)
From The Australian Communications and Media Authority
:jk:
