A fake computer virus scam is spreading in Vancouver right now, and Vancouver police Sgt. Jim Scott said it’s because the thieves are getting a lot of money.
The scam starts with a phone call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft or another major company. The caller says there is a virus on the victim’s computer, and asks the victim to log onto his computer and give the caller control. The screen goes black, and the victim is asked for a $150 visa payment to make it work again.
The VPD said that no legitimate company would call anyone about a computer virus, and that this scam is based in India. People are advised to hang up if they get a call like this; if they’ve fallen for the scam, they should call their credit card company immediately and ask them to reverse the charges.
Scott said the thieves will continue to operate in Vancouver until the city’s residents become wise to this crime.
Because of the prevalence of this type of crime, and the large amounts of money involved, the VPD revealed the Top 10 avoidable scams for 2011 on Wednesday morning, listing the computer virus scam as No. 1.
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The fake lottery scam, starts with an email like this: “Special Notification: Your email account has won you the biggest elottery cheque of £950.000.00, this is a life changing opportunity for you.”
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There’s a catch, though. The winner has to pay in order to get the winnings. This scam often targets the elderly via specific “black market bait lists,” the VPD said. To avoid being a victim of this scam, people should realize that no legitimate lottery would ask for money to receive winnings, and that a person cannot win a lottery then have not entered.
The event ticket re-sale scam sees a person buying legitimate tickets to an event, that are later cancelled by the event organizer because they were bought with a stolen credit card. To avoid this scam, either buy tickets through an established event ticket re-sale company, or arrange to meet the person in a public place and ask for photo identification. Write down the seller’s personal information, and be prepared for disappointment if the event tickets are cancelled by the organizer. The distress scam involves an email or a phone call that appears to be from a family member having a crisis in a foreign country and asks the victim to wire money. Most often, this scam is done by someone hacking into a person’s email address book and sending the email to all of the person’s contacts. To avoid this scam, the VPD recommends calling the person in question to make sure they’re okay, and protecting all personal information.
The phantom rental property scam is just as it sounds: a victim finds a great deal for an advertised rental property, and they pay a damage deposit and rent in cash or by wire transfer. When they go to move in, they discover the property was never available, and that the fake landlord never had the right to rent the property. To avoid this scam, always view a rental property in person and pay with post dated cheques. If you are being asked for cash for a rental property, it’s a scam, the VPD said.
There are also scams involving counterfeit currency, mystery shopper jobs, advance fees to help move money out of an African country, such as Nigeria, fake bank security emails and fake door-to-door charity or home and fire inspectors.
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