Microsoft scam hits Royal Borough - trading standards alert

Royal Borough residents are being targeted by telephone scammers claiming to be Microsoft computer security engineers - and trading standards has issued an alert to people to be on their guard.

The scam works by the criminals calling people at home to tell them they are at risk of a computer security threat and offering free security checks. They add authenticity by claiming to represent legitimate companies and use telephone directories to refer to their victims by name. Once they have tricked their victims into believing they have a problem and that the caller can help, the scammers run through a range of deception techniques designed to extract money.

However, trading standards say the calls are nothing but an illegal ploy to try and steal as much as £500 from each victim.

Cllr Phill Bicknell, Cabinet Member with responsibility for public protection, said borough residents should be on their guard: "Our trading standards officers have received a number of calls from local residents who've been contacted by these criminals trying to extract money. Thankfully, they weren't taken in but we need to put out a very strong message to everyone to give these scammers short shrift."

Microsoft has been issuing warnings to computer users across the UK, Ireland, the USA and Canada after a survey revealed that across the four countries 15% of people had received a call from scammers. More than 20% of those who received calls were duped into following the scammers' instructions, for example allowing remote access to their PC and providing credit card information. The survey also showed that the average cost of repairing damage caused to computers by the scammers was more than £1,000.

Steve Johnson, Trading Standards Manager, said: "We should all be very suspicious of unsolicited calls and never under any circumstances allow these callers access to our computers or bank details. The scammers are criminals who are out to play on people's fears and steal as much money as they can.

"Our advice is simple - do not trust anyone who calls you out of the blue and tries to get information about your computer or bank accounts or indeed any personal information. Reputable companies do not call their customers in this way. If you get one of these calls take down the caller's information and let trading standards know."

Contact trading standards on 01628 683672 or email trading.standards@rbwm.gov.uk

Microsoft has issued advice to all its product users which is available at www.actionfraud.org.uk/microsoft-reveals-extent-of-phone-scam-june11

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