A well-known phone and computer fraud has recently resurfaced in the South Cariboo.
At least two residents have received cold calls from scammers telling them they have a computer virus, in an attempt to gain access to their personal computers.
A senior too savvy to be easily fooled, Eleanor Simpson says she received three calls in the past week from a man claiming she has a problem with her Microsoft Windows, and urging her to download a program onto her computer.
He knew her last name, she adds, but promptly hung up when Simpson told him she did not have a computer.
The problem hasn’t gone away, however, so now she lets the answering machine pick up every call.
Last November, Jason Maisonet of The Computer Whisperer had at least 20 clients who were called by scammers identified as Virtual PC Doctor, urging them to type in a web address and code that will infect their PC and give hackers access to personal computer files and banking information.
For more information or to report a scam, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501, e-mail info@antifraudcentre.ca or visit www.phonebusters.com.
