Computer scammers target Queensland residents Please take note and read

The Queensland Police Service has issued a warning to Queensland residents about a scam targeting computer users.

The scam involves people taking a call from a person claiming to be working at a foreign call centre, known as “The Windows Service Centre” or similar. The offender claims to belong to a software support company requested by Microsoft to fix problems on the victim’s computer and informs the victim their PC is infected with viruses and needs to be fixed urgently or it will be destroyed.

The offender will then direct the victim through a process on their computer ultimately giving the offender remote access to the computer to download viruses or gain access to personal information.

Once the offender has gained access, they will then give or sell the victim software in order to prevent this problem in the future. The victim, instead of downloading anti-virus software, may well be installing a virus on their computer which may be used to gather credit card and identity data.

Detective Superintendent Brian Hay of the State Crime Operations Command Fraud and Corporate Crime Group said this scam was just another example of offenders preying on the vulnerabilities of victims.

“In reality, there is nothing wrong with their computer but the scammer has tricked the consumer into believing there is a problem and that paying the fee is the best way to get it fixed. Often they will also push the customer to buy a one year computer maintenance subscription. They are just trying to scam innocent Australians out of money,” Detective Superintendent Brian Hay of theFraud and Cyber Crime Group said.

“Microsoft is not cold-calling consumers in regards to malfunctioning PCs, viruses or any other matter, nor have they engaged other entities on their behalf.
“We have seen this scam work, as the victim may let down their guard when told by the offender they have specific knowledge of error messages on their system. This gives the victim confidence in the caller, which in turn opens the door to fraud,” Detective Superintendent Hay said.

“Giving someone you don’t know remote access to your computer is basically the same as handing your credit card details over to them. With this access, an offender can easily search your computer for banking or personal details or quite easily load malicious software onto your computer.

“If someone calls you with an offer like this, hang up the phone immediately,” Detective Superintendent Hay said.

Members of the community are reminded to never reveal personal or financial information to any person who “cold calls” them on the phone. It has become apparent that some of the targeted victims of this scam have previously engaged in a phone survey some weeks earlier.

This innocuous survey sought no personal information; however, it did query information regarding the householder’s computer equipment. When armed with this information at a later date, thefraudster is able to gain credibility of the consumer to better scam them from their money.

Members of the community are reminded to do their homework. Legitimate companies have measures in place to verify they are a genuine organisation.