WARNING ABOUT SCAMS! Police would like to issue another reminder about scams. There have been a number of incidents recently within the Lachlan Local Area Command where community members have been contacted either by email or phone and told they have won money or have something wrong with their computer, such as numerous viruses, or other similar lines. Most residents have hung up on the phone or deleted the emails without responding, however some have allowed the scammers access to their computers and even provided personal information, such as bank card or medicare details. “If someone rings or emails you and you believe it is suspicious hang up,” police from Lachlan LAC, said. “There have been a number of these incidents occurring recently. If someone rings or emails you and says you have viruses on your computer and you believe it is legitimate or are not sure, take it to a local computer shop for inspection.” One common scam going around at the moment is called “the Microsoft scam” by the Department of Fair Trading. It involves scammers ringing you and asking you to turn your computer on and provide them with certain information, enabling the scammer to take control of your computer often with the aim of getting personal information from it. This scam has been attempted, and some successful, within the Lachlan LAC recently. If you would like more information on scams, tips to avoid them or to report a scam to the Department of Fair Trading, please visit the website: fairtrading.nsw.gov.au. SCAMwatch is another government website with information about scams and how to detect and avoid them. Find it at: scamwatch.gov.au. “Scammers are crafty and come up with all sorts of schemes to entice potential victims to give them what they want,” police said. “Please be cautious and if you think it’s suspicious, cease communication. Lastly, please bear in mind that if you are not expecting to receive something or your computer is working fine, and you’re told it’s not, it may be a scam and if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.”
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 21:49:09 +0000
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