Computer scammers targeting Motueka again

April 5th, 2012

Telecom says Motueka phone numbers are currently being targeted for a recurring computer scam that aims to extract money from households who fear their computers may malfunctioning or be carrying a virus.

Colin Hooker, of the SeniorNet group in Motueka, has been alerted to the resurgence of this scam, which has been plaguing people on and off for more than two years now. Following discussions with Telecom, Colin sent us this message:

"Have you been getting phone calls recently when the phone rings, you pick it up and there's nobody there? We all get the odd one from time to time but if you have been getting a lot recently - beware! It could be the start of a computer scam.

"We had been getting the odd one or two at home and then suddenly we got 3 within about 12 hours, so I rang Telecom to see if they had any ideas as to what was happening. I was told that this is the start of a computer scam.

"The phone calls originate overseas (Telecom was able to trace the number of one that we received) and after a few "nobody there" calls you get a real person telling you they're from Microsoft (or an imaginary computer company) and that there is something wrong with your computer and phone, and they'll help you fix it. Of course this is absolute nonsense and you should just put the phone down and not listen to them.

"The reason for alerting you to this scam is that Telecom told me the scammers are currently targeting numbers in Tasman - they are going through all the 528 numbers from 5280000 to 5289999 hoping to find a victim or two. So you might be a target. Remember - ignore them and put the phone down if they call."

If you do engage them in conversation and they persuade you that you have a problem, they will try to get your credit card details to pay for a non-existent software solution, which may in fact lead to you downloading a real virus. Do not discuss it with them - just hang up!

Or you could do what Motueka Online did once - tell the scammer to wait while you answer the front doorbell, put the phone on the table and successfully waste a few minutes of their time by not answering again.

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