Police have received a number of complaints over the past few weeks from computer owners citing calls from Microsoft. The story is they note a problem or virus on your computer and they need you to get on, give them a bunch of information, pay them and they’ll fix it.
This is a scam!
There hundreds of thousands if not millions of computers in the world operating Microsoft programs. And that’s what they bank on when they call. They call on the pretext you have a computer and it operates on Microsoft. Chances are pretty good, right? But let’s be realistic, do you think Microsoft has bunch of people monitoring computers throughout the world looking for problems so they can help you out? Some people may have big brother theories, but regardless don’t fall into their trap.
In some cases you pay them money and they don’t fix a thing, in other cases they gain valuable information from you which could result in further identity or financial problems. Or worse they gain access to your computer, which could include passwords, banking information and your contacts.
There are a number of legitimate businesses out there, but you must be vigilant, do some research, get a call back number, Google the name, check with your friends. Police have a hard time keeping track of all the scams and frauds, but an overview of some of the more common types is available on the RCMP website at:
http://bc.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=87&languaeId=1&contentId=4871