Personal Computer Support From Marc Fowler

ByMarc Fowler

Beware latest computer scam

Have you heard of the latest scam to hit computer users? I read about it last week and already one of my customers has been caught out.

She recieved a phone call, completely out of the blue, from a ‘computer support company’ claiming to have detected problems with her computer. This caller managed to talk her into letting him take control of her computer remotely to ‘solve’ her ‘problems’. She was asked for her credit card details and charged over £180.

If this wasn’t bad enough, whatever the person did has resulted in her not being able to connect to the internet since. She called me to help get her back online, still unaware she had been duped. I had to break the bad news to her over the phone and tell her to inform her credit card company immediately – now she knows fraudsters have her details. As well as having to deal with that, she now has to pay for me to come out and solve real problems, caused by this fraudster.

There has been a rising number of such scams in recent months. If you get a call out of the blue, offering to fix problems with your computer over the phone, don’t believe a word! If you are unsure, take names, numbers and say you will call back – but don’t go any further until you’ve had time to ask me about it or research the company online.

About the author

Marc Fowler administrator

I am an independent computer expert working in the Woodbridge area of Suffolk. I mainly support home users but also help local small businesses. I have been trading as FowlerWeb Computer Support since May 2005.

4 comments so far

stephen barnesPosted on10:45 am - Apr 30, 2010

Hello Marc just a quick comment to let you know that we have been subject to this scam. The caller rang three times and was very pushey. fortunately he did not get as far as gaining access to my sons computer, but the whole experience left my wife quite upset. what i dont understand is how did he get my sons details? regards SCB

Marc FowlerPosted on4:22 pm - Apr 30, 2010

Thank you for your comment, Steve. First of all, may I say “well done” to your wife for not backing down – it sounds like she had a tough time of it. It is highly unlikely you were targeted. The caller probably called you at random.

Having visited my affected customers today and learned more of what happened, I am putting together a more detailed article which I shall publish here soon. Keep an eye on my blog or my Twitter page. If you are happy for me to, I could email you when I publish it.

Tweets that mention Beware latest computer scam :: Marc Fowler’s Computer Blog :: FowlerWeb – Computer Expert Serving Woodbridge, Suffolk — Topsy.comPosted on12:33 am - May 1, 2010

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