Missoulians Report Phone Scam Targeting Computers
More Missoulians are reporting scam calls. Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Brenda Bassett describes a recent case.
“We actually had received a message yesterday from a resident in the area," Bassett said. "She said she received three phone calls in the last few days, basically, the caller had an Indian accent, he told her that her computer was at risk and asked to gain remote access to her computer. She responded by asking to be taken off the call list.”
Despite being asked to be removed from the call list, the same caller called back two more times, with some specific requests.
“He told her to go to tools and settings, and she started to question him," Bassett said. "He didn’t know what operating system she was using, or really even what the problem was.”
Bassett warns that a lot of harm can be done by someone with remote access to a computer and that this technique can be used for identity theft and a host of other types of crime.