Beware Microsoft 'fix' offer
June 25, 2013
There have been reports of Boundary County businesses receiving calls, obviously foreign and likely from India, informing that a problem with a local computer is causing them problems with their computer servers.

Then they go on to tell you that they will walk you through the fix.

While not falling for the proffered assistance, at least one local business, fearing their systems might actually be infected with a virus, shut all their computers down and called in tech support, which checked each computer and found nothing.

That same business has received several subsequent calls, insisting they accept "help" and follow their instructions ... they tried  telling them them their machines were not infected, tied hanging up, but the calls kept coming, sometimes several times a day ... until they threatened to report the calls to police.

While it's not certain, following the caller's instruction is not likely to fix anything, a far likelier scenario is that they'll walk those who fall for the scam into installing a virus on their machines, potentially one that will allow them to monitor your computer activity and access passwords, account numbers and other sensitive data.

While a report to police or the sheriff's office can do little, both agencies are aware of the potential threat imposed by such scams.

If you receive such a call, you are advised to visit the FBI's Internet Crime Center, www.ic3.gov; where you can report the scam on-line and add to the national database of information needed to find and prosecute those responsible, no matter where in the world they might be hiding.