Residents and businesses in Carmarthenshire warned about a telephone IT scam
Residents and businesses in Carmarthenshire are being warned about a telephone IT scam doing the rounds. Carmarthenshire Trading Standards has issued the warning as it appears offices are being targeted across the county by telephone callers claiming to be from Microsoft. With such scams victims are cold called, usually by phone, and told that there is a problem with their computer and for a nominal fee the caller can fix it. The callers often claim to be working with Microsoft who have identified that the computer has been infected with a virus and offer an update or fix. The victims are talked through the log-on steps in order for the fraudster to gain remote access to the computer. The victims will then often witness the mouse moving and changes being made to the display. They then pay a fee (anything between £100 and £300 has been reported to Action Fraud) and are told the problem has been resolved. Once the initial payment has been processed it is not uncommon for additional lar...