Antivirus Scam Active Again

(CENTRAL HURON, ON) – Huron County OPP officers continue to receive complaints about the “computer repair & anti-virus scam”. A resident of Clinton received a phone call on May 5, 2012 from a purported computer repair technician offering to fix his computer. The victim was charged $336 for a “lifetime” membership of anti-virus software. On May 27, 2012 the victim was contacted again and was advised the product he had purchased was now obsolete and they wanted to refund his money. The victim provided his credit card particulars and was charged an additional $347. On June 1, 2012 the scammer called back attempting to get the victim’s credit card information; this time the victim did not provide the information and contacted police. The credit card charges were billed to origins in India.

As in this case, often the scam originates outside of North America. If you require computer service, consult a local reputable computer repair technician. Don’t hand over your hard earned money to a smooth talking con artist. Remember, you are not being rude when you hang up the phone on someone who is trying to steal your money or information. Some usual indicators of this scam are:

Unsolicited calls representing a computer repair company
Requests to remotely access your computer
Urgent and persistent solicitation indicating there is a threat to your computer
Credit card charges ranging from $35 to $470
Credit card charges from foreign banks, companies

Anyone interested in more information on fraud can contact the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre at 1 888 495 8501 or online at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca

Over 150,000 Monthly Readers! 1 Million+ Across the entire FreePress Network.