A wannabe computer trickster got more than he bargained for when he tried to fleece an unsuspecting Armagh family.
The con artist was not banking on having his phone call answered by an IT engineer.
A local woman contacted Armagh I this week following our recent report which highlighted attempts by fraudsters to use the BT name to try and swindle residents.
SDLP Councillor Sharon Haughey-Grimley brought that issue to our attention after she answered such a call herself – from someone claiming to need access to her computer.
It is of course an endless stream of scams and ruses and the Armagh woman contacted us to let others know to be wary of this bogus ‘Microsoft’ ploy.
She said: “They claim that your computer is faulty and they require you to sign on to a programme that gives them control to fix your computer remotely.
“This is all a scam so they can take sensitive information from your computer.”
The caller spoke with an Asian accent.
The woman added: “It was my son that answered the call. He is an IT engineer so he knew straight away it was a scam. Microsoft do not call directly to you unless arranged previously.
“Once he challenged him on this and once he asked more about why he was ringing he began to back track and then hung up.”
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