Phone scammers targeting Bendigo – Bendigo Advertiser
Mark Foggitt of Huntly said he has had two offers this week from cold callers with strong Indian accents promising to remove viruses from his computer.
“They say there have detected viruses on your computer and they will clean them off for a fee,” he said.
“It’s clearly a scam. My son is an IT tech and there is no way they can see what is on your computer.
“If you have a virus, you find it yourself and call someone in to get rid of it.”
Mr Foggitt said he knows several people around Bendigo, including his own father, who have received similar calls.
The going rate for the bodgy service is $29.95 to $39.95, he said.
“My brother-in-law got caught with one a couple of years ago,” Mr Foggitt said.
“They are scumbags. I’m worried some older people might get sucked in.”
Another caller to the Bendigo Advertiser said a caller with an Indian accent identified herself as a Microsoft employee and offered to clear viruses from her computer.
She declined, and ended the call.
A Consumer Affairs Victoria spokeswoman said scammers like these could be looking for money for virus removal or could be seeking remote access to a computer.”
“Computer repair scams are one of the most common scams reported to Consumer Affairs Victoria,” she said.
“So far this year, Consumer Affairs Victoria has received more than 5100 reports about scams, including more than 780 reports about computer repair scams. As many of these scams originate overseas, it can be very difficult for victims to retrieve their money once they have paid a scammer.”
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