Newton Kansan
The Harvey County Sheriff’s Office sent out a message on Facebook in January — if you get a call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft, it’s likely a scam.
At the time, the department had just one report of the scam. Now, there’s more than a dozen who have called the department about the scam.
“Some people are telling me they are getting multiple calls,” said Sheriff T. Walton.
To date, the Newton Police Department has no reports of the scam — but there has been enough activity that the Better Business Bureau serving Nebraska, South Dakota, the Kansas Plains and Southwest Iowa issued an alert this week about the phone scam.
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The scammer will call on the phone, claiming to be a representative from Microsoft and offering to solve computer problems. They ask for information that allows the scammer to control a computer via remote desktop software.
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The scammers may know your name and other personal information, which they get from publicly available phone directories. They might even guess what computer operating system you’re using.
The caller tells you that your computer is sending error messages, and they’ve detected a virus on it. He says only a tech support employee can remove the virus, but first you need to grant him access to your machine. If you give the OK, the caller will run a scan of your files and actually point out how the virus has infected the computer. The scammers then offer to remove the virus, for a fee. Before they fix the nonexistent problem, they ask your credit card details.
But they don’t stop with just a credit card number.
“They start downloading your files,” Walton said. “They download anything they can with credit card information and online banking information.”
Those who allowed the caller remote access to their computers, whether they paid for the virus to be removed or not, reported difficulties with their computer afterwards, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Some said computers would not turn on or programs and files were inaccessible. Some victims even reported taking their computers for repair, and technicians confirmed software had been installed.
Walton and Lt. Eric Murphy of the Newton Police Department advised not giving the information out — especially to someone you don’t know.
“Anytime anyone calls and wants personal information, or to remote into your computer, that is not a good thing to allow it to happen unless you know the person very well,” Murphy said.
But if you suspect someone is remoting into your computer — there is another answer.
“One woman told me when they took control, and she saw they were downloading files, she said something to her husband. He said to unplug the computer. They did that, and they had to change all of their account numbers,” Walton said.
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What to do if “Tech Support” Calls?
• Never give control of your computer to a third party unless you can confirm that it is a legitimate representative of a computer support team with whom you are already a customer.
• Never provide your credit card or financial information to someone claiming to be from tech support. If the caller claims there is a security threat to your computer, hang up and call your computer company directly.
• Take the caller’s information down and report it to your local authorities the BBB or the FTC.
• If you did allow a caller to access your computer:
– Change the passwords for your computer, email and online banking/credit card accounts.
– Be sure to run a virus scan
– Consider placing a fraud alert on your credit report if you shared personal and banking information with the scammer.
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— Better Business Bureau