Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe is warning residents in Sydney’s inner west to be on high alert following reports of locals being targeted by a computer virus scam.

Mr Stowe said Fair Trading had received reports this week from local residents contacted by scammers claiming to work for Microsoft.

“One savvy consumer responded by declaring the scam and hanging up,” he said. “Audaciously, the scammer called back and attempted to convince the consumer their call was legitimate and offered a number the consumer could call to verify the offer.

“Thankfully, the consumer, already aware of Fair Trading’s warnings, again hung up.”

Mr Stowe warned the scam was not new and consumers should not be deceived.

Scammers call out of the blue and tell consumers they have a problem with their personal computer. They often claim to be from a large computer company or legitimate technical service provider and request remote access to people’s computers. If you say yes, they will run a bogus scan that shows up a fake virus.

The consumer is then asked to pay for worthless antivirus software. Further risks in allowing remote access to your computer are identity theft and the risk of scammers getting access to people’s bank account details.

Mr Stowe said scams are on the increase with pushy scammers calling more often and with increasingly sophisticated techniques.

Between January and September last year Fair Trading received 6 scam reports from Inner West residents. For the same period this year Fair Trading received 10 reports.

Mr Stowe said these figures represented the tip of the iceberg because the majority of people approached did not report scam calls to Fair Trading.

“With so many scams operating, people should warn their family and friends, work colleagues and neighbours to beware of unsolicited approaches,” he said.

“Be scam smart. Hang up, call Fair Trading on 13 32 20 to report the scam and warn others.”

For more information about Fair Trading go to the Fair Trading website.

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