This in from the Police, in their own words. Ed
Police are reminding members of the public on the Isle of Wight about a scam targeting personal and financial information stored on home computers.
The West Wight Safer Neighbourhoods team was contacted by an elderly man in Freshwater this month after he had been told his home computer had a virus during cold calls from a stranger.
The cold caller also offered advice and assistance over the phone to fix the alleged problem. He asked the man to give him remote control of his computer.
The computer owner then became suspicious, ended the phone call, and closed all programs on his computer. Nothing was reported stolen, but the man later changed his internet passwords and credit cards as a precaution.
Anyone who receives such a call should ask first for the name of the person phoning, the organisation they’re calling from, and their phone number.
Get in touch
If you think you are being targeted, ask the caller for as many details regarding the organisation as possible, including their address.
Do not give out any information, and contact the organisation to confirm whether the request is genuine. Where possible, dial 1471 after the call has ended to find out if the caller’s number can be obtained.
Anyone concerned that they have been targeted by a scam can contact either Isle of Wight Council’s Trading Standards on 01983 821000 or the police on 101. Pass any telephones numbers to police as this may help with our investigation.
Mini-Com users can call the police on 01962 875000. Information can be given anonymously by calling the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.
