Staff
Local residents again have been reporting a phone scam aimed at gaining access to personal computers and information.
And once again they are warning everyone, particularly seniors, not to be fooled.
One resident said she received a call Monday from an individual claiming to be from Microsoft and telling her there was a problem with her software, specifically, Microsoft Word.
The caller ID number showed up 630-668-9832.
The individual on the phone claimed she was getting too many “error” messages while using her computer, and offered to help solve the computer problem by having her turn on her computer and navigating her to log on to a website.
The resident did not agree to this, however, and proceeded to give the cyber-criminal an earful before hanging up.
But the experience did leave her concerned others are receiving the same or a similar type of call who may fall for the deception.
According to the company’s website, “Microsoft will not make unsolicited phone calls to help you with your computer.
“If you receive a phone call like this, hang up,” it adds.
Microsoft also warned that if a cyber-criminal gains a person’s trust, they can do one or more of the following:
•trick people into installing malicious software on their computer;
•take control of a victim’s computer remotely and adjust settings in order to leave the computer vulnerable; or
•request credit card information so that cyber-criminals can bill for the phony services.
Another resident offered some advice to those who get a phone call like this one: hang up and don’t waste your time.
A local man received a call Monday night, and after a heated exchange with the would-be scammer during which the cyber-criminal threatened to hack his computer, he spent a total of three hours calling various companies and agencies only to be disappointed in the authorities’ inability to do anything.
The man called Bell, and after taking two hours to reach “a live human being,” then was told they couldn’t do anything and told him he should contact the police.
The man told the police he was threatened and would like to press charges against the caller.
The police said they couldn’t do anything, but advised him to call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
He also made a call to the national Do Not Call list.
“If this happens, you’re not going to get any satisfaction trying to get these people charged because nobody will even listen to you,” the man charged.
“You’re better hanging up the phone and not wasting your time.
“I honestly wasted three hours of my life, including more time this morning [Tuesday], trying to deal with this and all it does is frustrate you,” he added.
“You realize these telemarketers can do whatever they want and threaten you harm and property damage, and the police aren’t even willing to do anything about it.”
The man noted the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre also informed him that because telemarketers are using computers which dial up batches of 20 phone numbers at once, they are not subject to the rules of the Do Not Call list.
Another factor is the telemarketers sometimes are not even based in Canada or the U.S., making it difficult to charge them.
Those who may have experienced this type of situation can contact Phonebusters at 1-888-495-8501 or via e-mail at info@antifraudcentre.ca
