Dyfed Powys Police is warning Welshpool residents to be aware of a sophisticated telephone scam where fraudsters claim to be calling from Microsoft or the victims’ broadband provider offering to ‘speed up’ their computer.
Police say the fraudsters direct their victim to a website where they unwittingly give permission to access their computer remotely, leaving them exposed to fraud and viruses to obtain passwords.
“It’s a worrying trend that even those who use computers all the time and would be considered to know better are falling foul of this scam,” said Detective Inspector Diane Davies. “All I’d ask people is to think very carefully any time someone calls offering such a service.
“Never access your computer following a request made via an unexpected telephone call and don’t give out any private details relating to your computer. If access has been given, disconnect from the internet and take the computer to a reputable computer repairer to have any remote software and malware removed before reconnecting to the internet.
“Advice and more information can be found at
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ or on 0300 123 2040. Or you can get in touch with your local neighbourhood policing team who can offer advice.”