By Brendan Burke [1]
BELLEVILLE – Two recent incidents in Central Hastings have prompted investigations into suspected tech-support scams.
On Jan. 29, a Marmora resident notified Central Hastings Ontario Provincial Police after alarms sounded on her laptop, and an unknown phone number appeared on the computer’s screen. After calling the number in an effort to remedy the glitch, the woman was connected to a man who then walked her through a fraudulent computer-recovery process. As a result, the woman unwittingly granted the man remote access to her computer.
On Monday, the detachment received another fraud complaint stemming from a similar online interaction on Feb. 15. While browsing his email, a man noticed a pop-up indicating that his computer had been hacked. He called the alleged support number and was advised to purchase protective software for $350 – which he bought with a credit card. The scammer also acquired access to the second victim’s computer. Two weeks later, the man received a call saying further work needed to be done for an additional $160.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, tech support or service scams [2] are common. Often, scammers will identify themselves as well-known internet or software providers like Microsoft, or fraudsters will offer lower credit-card interest rates to obtain personal information.
The OPP Central Hastings unit is reminding residents to remain observant, and to know the warning signs of service fraud. If you get such a call, police recommend hanging up and calling the official number of the company directly. Credit-card information and passwords should never be provided to tech support, police added.