Fraud alert: Be wary of computer virus scam

KITCHENER — Police have released a fraud alert after receiving a number of complaints in the last few days about a computer virus scam.

Complainants say they have received unsolicited phone calls from a person claiming to work for Microsoft who offers to help check personal computers for viruses and malware. The caller then guides the recipient through a process to check for the viruses and gets them to download software. Police say the scam is an attempt to gain personal, banking or credit card information.

“People need to be cautious,” Waterloo Regional Police public affairs co-ordinator Olaf Heinzel said. “No matter what company a caller says they are from, the recipient has to make suitable efforts to make sure that caller is legitimate.”

This is the second time police have issued an alert of this type, with the previous one coming in March. Police urge people to avoid giving personal or credit card information to anyone whose legitimate identity has not been proved.

“It only takes one or two victims to make this scam pay off,” Heinzel said.

(From The Record: http://goo.gl/A8Gih