Digby RCMP said today the detachment has received numerous complaints regarding a computer scam.
Const. Darrell McNeil said a person posing as a tech support for Microsoft has been calling homes to warn people of a computer virus attacking computers. This person then requests to remotely go into a person’s computer to fix the problem.
A search on Google confirmed this to be a longtime scam, said McNeil. The person usually takes control of the computer, ‘hijacks’ it and then asks for credit card information in order to give the computer control back to you.
Or, in another version, the caller finds the supposed problem and asks for credit card information in order to properly fix the virus. Unauthorized charges then show up on the credit card.
RCMP advise that if you receive such a call, to hang up the phone immediately. Do not allow unknown persons to gain access to your information. If you had such a virus on your computer, Microsoft does not contact anyone directly. If you had contacted Microsoft directly, they would most likely ask you to purchase an anti-virus program as well.
