02 JUNE 11

Back in February we posted an article on our website regarding a phone scam that one of our customers had had some trouble with.  Things went quiet for a while, but in the last few weeks we have had several more reports from customers that have received these hoax phone calls, and then last night we got the infamous phone call ourselves!
 

Well, as you can imagine they chose the wrong people to mess with, but it did allow us some insight into how they carry out their scam and specifically what they say and what questions they ask.
 

With an increase in the number of recent incidents we believe that these scammers are out in full force.  We want you to be aware of this scam so that if or when you receive this phone call you will know what to look out for and you will know what to do.
 

First of all, they talk quite quickly and in a very serious manner so as to cause concern but also a certain amount of confusion.  They then say that they monitor all computer ID’s, and they have been receiving a lot of error reports from your computer.  They then ask if you could get on to your computer and read out the computer ID.  Knowing this was a scam, we asked them to tell us our ID - if they are getting the error reports and had our phone number then surely they would know what our ID was.  At this point the person on the other end of the phone got flustered and hung up.
 

Whatever you do, DO NOT give them your computer ID - whatever they think this may be.  We never found out exactly what they think this is, but it's best to keep all your information to yourself.  They may also ask for your credit card details to proceed with fixing your computer.  DO NOT give them your credit card details.  The last thing they try to do is get you to install some software on your computer so they can gain access - again, DON'T do this.

We had one client that told them that she didn't in fact own a computer and asked what they were talking about.  This was very clever thinking as the scammer panicked and hung up immediately!
 

Please be aware that this is a scam and what they are telling you is absolutely a load of rubbish.  As your trusted IT service provider you should only ever be hearing from Optimus Systems with regards to any issues on your computer.  If you have had a call such as this please let us know so that we can be kept aware of what is happening out there.  Also, if you are concerned that your computer does have a virus or anything malicious, please feel free to contact us so that we can check it out.
 

If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to contact us.
 

Click here to see the original article posted in February.