Residents across Cumbria are continuing to receive telephone calls from scammers claiming to be from Microsoft Security or other legitimate companies. Trading Standards are reminding residents to remain on their guard and to protect their personal details at all times. This scam works by criminals calling people at home and informing them that a serious computer virus has been detected on their computer. Once the scammers have tricked the victims into believing their computer has a problem they will use a variety of deception techniques to scam you. The caller may try to access your PC remotely or obtain passwords. They may also pretend to fix the problem and ask for payment.
If you receive a call like this you should ignore them. Never under any circumstances allow these callers to access your computers or obtain passwords.
If you think that you have been a victim of this type of fraud you report the matter to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or on line at www.actionfraud.police.uk. For general consumer advice please contact Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 08454 04 05 06 or at www.adviceguide.org.uk Barry Evans, Natland Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator