From South Okanagan police: Protect yourself from telephone scams
Source: By Doyle P Release Time: 12:19:27 2018-09-03
A spike in telephone scams for computer support has police warning South Okanagan and Similkameen residents not to fall for this scheme.
“The RCMP has seen a sharp increase in the number of telephone computer support scams, and is warning the public not to become victims,” the Penticton RCMP detachment said on Thursday. Police said the scam often originates from outside of Canada, though the phone number often looks like a local number. The person on the phone identifies his or herself as a computer-support person and is wanting to gain access to the person’s computer to make necessary updates. READ MORE: Five victims lost $5.1M to telephone scammers: Toronto police The fake tech support scammer may pretend to be from Microsoft and claim that he or she needs remote access to one’s computer. The scammer then demands payment, typically in the form of untraceable gift cards, and make threats should they not receive the funds. Police said Microsoft does not send unsolicited email messages and does not make unsolicited phone calls to request personal or financial information or fix a computer. If you or someone you know has become a victim of this or another scam, you are encouraged to report it to your local RCMP Detachment or call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.