Tech support scam resurges in the Puget Sound area
»Play Video
Word is getting out in Poulsbo about a computer scam spreading through town, and odds are it's happening statewide. Anyone can fall for it, but your parents or grandparents who use the computer are especially vulnerable because seniors aren't always as tech savvy as younger users.
The scam preys on our trust of the tech support teams we call when our computers are on the fritz. Only instead of you calling tech support, tech support calls you.
Tamara Roche says her parents in Poulsbo are among a number of seniors to got hit this week. Someone calls on the phone claiming they've detected a virus or a problem with your internet access, or a virus -- there are any number of come-ons. They claim to be with Microsoft tech support, but the calls are not from Microsoft or any other legitimate company. The goal is simply to install malicious software that allows scammers to take over your computer.
They get you to log on so they can "resolve the problem remotely." If you follow their instructions, the scammers can take over your computer in a matter of minutes, and download everything in your files.
Roche says as soon as her parents told her about their "computer fix" she had them unplug the computer, change their accounts and passwords, and take their computer to a local computer repair shop to have the hard drive de-bugged. Fortunately, they moved quickly enough that no accounts were compromised.
Again, seniors are prime targets, but people of all ages are getting burned by this one. Microsoft has an alert on its website.
The scam preys on our trust of the tech support teams we call when our computers are on the fritz. Only instead of you calling tech support, tech support calls you.
Tamara Roche says her parents in Poulsbo are among a number of seniors to got hit this week. Someone calls on the phone claiming they've detected a virus or a problem with your internet access, or a virus -- there are any number of come-ons. They claim to be with Microsoft tech support, but the calls are not from Microsoft or any other legitimate company. The goal is simply to install malicious software that allows scammers to take over your computer.
They get you to log on so they can "resolve the problem remotely." If you follow their instructions, the scammers can take over your computer in a matter of minutes, and download everything in your files.
Roche says as soon as her parents told her about their "computer fix" she had them unplug the computer, change their accounts and passwords, and take their computer to a local computer repair shop to have the hard drive de-bugged. Fortunately, they moved quickly enough that no accounts were compromised.
Again, seniors are prime targets, but people of all ages are getting burned by this one. Microsoft has an alert on its website.
