Telephone call computer scam
Details of this computer scam have been circulated before but we are aware that the scam is still continuing and we feel you should be aware of it.
The scammers make telephone calls claiming that they are from a computer software company, such as Microsoft or an internet provider.
The callers claim that there is a virus or problem with the victim's computer, asking them to turn it on before giving a series of instructions to allow them to 'fix the problem'.
However, this allows the caller remote access to the computer, enabling them to look at your files, internet browsing history and even download software on your PC that would allow them to connect to it again whenever your computer is connected to the internet.
Fortunately in the cases reported to us the victims both realised quickly that this was a scam and did not do as they had been asked and terminated the call without allowing access to their computers.
We are not aware of any software company or internet provider that would call you and even be able to tell from afar that there was a fault or virus on your PC.
Never under any circumstance, do anything with your computer that a cold caller asks you to.
We cannot stress enough how important it is to have adequate anti-virus and anti-spyware installed on your PC from a legitimate source and that updates for these are installed regularly.
Always install security updates from Microsoft as they will help to protect your PC.