Computer support phone call scam

Just recently I’ve read about “computer fault scams” and phone calls from someone claiming to be from Microsoft.

“Microsoft does not make unsolicited phone calls to help you fix your computer”

The first I heard about it was back in January when Staffordshire County Council published an article describing a victim paying £130 to a company called “Supportonclick“.

“These scams take advantage of people who have limited computer knowledge and can easily be talked in to thinking there is a problem”

Since hearing about this type of scam I’ve had numerous phone calls from concerned members of the public, explaining that the person on the end of the phone wanted them to run “prefetch” or “eventvwr“.

The advice given is to contact a local IT specialist who will only happy to advise you further.

DO NOT accept computer help from a cold caller and do not pay a fee over the telephone.

If someone contacts you out of the blue suggesting you may have a computer problem, you should put the phone down immediately and seek advice.

However, if you think you may have been a victim of this type scam, please report it to Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

Update 12 July 2012: People are still receiving these unsolicited computer fault scams calls. Also back in July 2011, after I contacted Staffordshire County Council they put out a press release which stated that this computer scam is still in circulation and what to do about it.