A Sudbury resident narrowly avoided becoming a victim of online fraud Thursday.
She received a call from a man who claimed to be from Microsoft headquarters in New Jersey. He tried to trick her into giving him access to her computer, but luckily, she did not fall for the ruse.
“He played it very cool,” she said in an interview with the Star. “When I asked him for a phone number where he could be reached, he didn’t get flustered at all.”
The phone number that he gave her was from overseas, though, and it didn’t match the phone number on her caller I.D. She knew something wasn’t right.
It turns out that the scam this woman experienced isn’t new. The Greater Sudbury Police Department Cyber Crime Unit issued a press release in June last year warning residents about it.
“Citizens will receive a telephone call from an individual who advises that they represent Microsoft and that they’re calling to alert you that you have a virus (or many viruses) on your computer system and that their technician will need to access your computer remotely to verify the problem,” said the press release.
If you give them access to your computer, they will copy mal-ware to your system and cause you some serious problems. Don’t do it.
First of all, Microsoft headquarters is in Redmond, Wash., and not in New Jersey like the hacker suggested. Second, Microsoft will never call you to fix a problem unless you have reported an incident and requested support.
These types of scams can also originate from phishing email messages that are designed to steal your identity and other information. They ask for personal data, or direct you to web-sites where you are asked to provide personal data.
The Sudbury woman took positive action to protect her privacy. She did not turn on her computer when they asked her and instead asked them some questions. She asked for a phone number, and thought carefully about what the scammer was offering her.
“Out of the hundreds of thousands of people who are using Microsoft software around the world, why would they receive error messages from my computer and take the time to call me about it?” she asked herself.
The hackers were very persuasive, but their stories didn’t quite add up.
“They told me that they could fix my computer so that I would never have a problem ever again,” said the woman. “But hackers get into government computers, how could my computer be protected forever?”
The woman quickly got off the phone and called the police, and then the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre, formerly Phone Busters. They told her that this scam was quite common and that she did the right thing to check it out.
“The bottom line is that people have to remain vigilant and realize that most legitimate companies will not function in that manner,” said Const. Bert Lapalme, Media Relations Officer with the Sudbury Police.
He warns that it is very easy for hackers to create emails with a recognizable professional logo.
“If someone calls and claims to be your bank, insurance company or internet provider and they ask you for personal information, hang up and call the company yourself to confirm.”
Whatever you do, never give out any personal information over the phone or the internet. Just don’t do it, no matter how safe you think it is.
“It’s sad and scary, how suspicious we have to be with phone calls. Whenever someone calls me soliciting something, my husband and I say send it in the mail and then we’ll talk,” said the Sudbury woman who was almost the victim of an attack. She hopes that this story will bring awareness and prevent the community from suffering from future scams.