A recent run on fraud cases continues in Saanich with a warning about phone calls from individuals claiming to be with Microsoft.
The callers try to obtain personal information by telling potential victims their computers have one or more viruses. If computer-access details, such as a username and password, are passed along, financial information and other data on the computer can be accessed.
Saanich police have received calls from three residents about the scam in the past few days.
“You’re basically allowing that person to access any information you may have on your personal computer from a remote location,” said Saanich police Sgt. Steve Eassie.
Members of the public are advised to not feel obligated to stay on the line with any unsolicited caller offering a service, and to be wary of anything purportedly free.
If you have provided information or gone to a website on such a caller’s instructions, quickly shut down and unplug your computer and let your financial institution know what has happened. Then take your computer to a reputable computer business to be checked for bugs and viruses.
Daniel Williams of the Ontario-based Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said the computer-fixing scam is quite common. He said criminals also try to get similar details through “phishing” emails, which can be sent to 100,000 people an hour.
The emails can be made to look like they’re coming from a bank or other financial institution, Williams said. “It’s just a means of stealing credit-card and banking information, and other personal details.”
The more people who know about these and other frauds, the better, he said.
“What hurts them the most overall, worse than anything that the police or the courts or anyone else can do to them, is publicity on the issue. The more the spotlight is put on it, the less victimization we’re guaranteed to see.”
Williams said the anti-fraud centre’s phone system can receive about 800 calls a day.
“Out of those 800, the call-takers are able to handle between 300 to 500 a day,” he said. “Just so many folks trying to report fraud.”
Fraud can be reported to the centre online, as well.
“By computer we’re getting in excess of 1,200 complaints a day, and that number is only going to continue to rise,” Williams said.
He said the centre also hears from citizens reporting scams they have managed to avoid.
The anti-fraud centre can be reached at antifraudcentre.ca or 1-888-495-8501.
