Police Warn Public To Be “Vigilant” With Scam
The police are advising the public to be vigilant with a scam in which where a person calls from an overseas number stating there is a problem with your computer and then asks for remote access to your computer and subsequently installs malicious software.
A police spokesperson said, “Once again the Bermuda Police Service is advising the public to be vigilant with the latest scam.
“This scam is suspected of being a variation of the Microsoft Windows telephone scam where a person calls from an overseas number stating there is a problem with your computer.
“The individual then asks for remote access to your computer and subsequently installs malicious software, the crook then request payment for its removal. These calls are believed to originate overseas and the scam artist usually has an Indian accent. It is strongly recommended that this unsolicited communication be ignored.
“In addition residents are reminded that personal information regarding banking details, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers and computer access are valuable and that this information should never be relayed over the internet or phone to unknown persons.
“Any incidents of suspected phone or internet fraud should be reported to the Financial Crime Unit on Telephone number 247 1757 or via the email address fraud@bps.bm”
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Category: All, Crime, technology
Can this Police Spokesperson advise me on how to tell the difference between an Indian, Pakistani and Bangali accent? I don’t want to be seen as being racist and painting everyone under the same brush when I chastise this caller for trying to scam me.
Either you’re really thick or you’re trying to kick up the racism pot. What accent a caller speaks with is the least of considerations in this circumstance. If you think you’re being scammed, you don’t need to say a darned thing…just hang up the phone.
Scam artists pretend to be employees of well-known computer companies, saying they have discovered problems or viruses on your computer. They then try to persuade you to give them access to your computer with passwords and security information. If you give any of this information to the caller, you can be sure they are going to sign on to your computer and install a virus or hack into your system. Once they’ve done this, they will then ask for payment and bank details so they can “fix” the problem that they created in the first place.
Genuine computer companies will NEVER do this. If you need technical help, always call or email your internet service provider’s support line or talk to a computer repair company locally.
Unfortunately, a large majority of victims of these types of scams are seniors who may be quite naive, gullible and/or lonely and thus easily bamboozled into surrendering their personal information or giving access to their computers to these unscrupulous people. If you have friends or family who are not savvy to the dark side of the cyber-world, please speak with them and caution them to NEVER reveal personal details, passwords, etc. to anyone over the telephone or via e-mail, no matter how persuasive they may be. If you have to scare them with these facts, do it. Much better to put their nerves on edge than have them suffer real damage as a result of their naivety.
The fact that the banks and other organisations use overseas persons to answer calls for locals accounts may present a problem as people overseas have access to our PRIVATE INFORMATION and we have know idea who these people are and if they are acting in corhoots with others to scam us because of the easy access to our information courtesy of outsourcing..hmmm
I think there’s no any way we can do to stop them from reaching us. The first time I found news about them is at 2011 maybe, and until today, I still found reports regarding these Windows tech support scammers at http://callercenter.com. It have been 4 years, and they still trying to steal our money! What a hard working thieves! Lol. Please, go find some real job, dudes!
This is not a problem on Rabbit Island. We do not believe in phones, computers or credit cards. Damn nuisances. Any scam artistes would be packed off to Shark Hole. But nobody causes anybody any trouble on Rabbit Island, because it is paradise and everybody is cool.