Beware phone scammers pretending to be from software companies: Police

Beware phone scammers pretending to be from software companies: Police

SINGAPORE - Police have warned the public about conmen pretending to be technical support personnel from major software companies, asking them to pay for additional software.

In an advisory issued on Thursday, police say there have been several reports of victims receiving calls from unknown persons informing them that their computers have been compromised and used for illegal online activities.

The victims would be asked to download and install one or more software from the Internet. They would also be asked to provide the software user account identification codes and passwords to the caller and in some instances, victims were instructed to enter some commands into their computers.

Some victims observed that their computers were remotely controlled after following the instructions of the callers.

The callers would then convince them to buy additional software by making online payments or by providing their credit card details.

The police have advised members of the public to adopt the following measures if they receive such calls:

- If the caller raises your suspicion, ignore or hang up to be on the safe side. Do not follow the instructions of the callers to install any software for your computer or enter any commands;

- Do not make any payment or divulge your credit card and/or bank account details to the callers;

- If you had followed any of the caller's instructions, immediately change your computer's log in password and all other passwords associated with your online accounts, especially your online banking and credit card passwords. Where possible, try changing the passwords from another computer other than the affected one; and

- Scan your computer with a commercial anti-virus / anti-malware software to find out if malware has been installed on your computer.

- Ensure you use only genuine software and that the software is updated automatically.

Members of the public who have any information related to this crime are advised to call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/CrimeStopper.

candicec@sph.com.sg

 

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