POLICE in the Central West are warning residents about what’s believed to be a new scam, in which a caller claims to be from the “cyber crimes squad” in Canberra.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In one instance, the caller claimed they were investigating a case of identity theft, and then asked for access to the resident’s computer.
After a lengthy period of time on the phone, during which the caller was described as “very convincing”, they asked the resident to pay a $400 fee to regain access to their own computer.
The caller was willing to reduce the fee to $300 and was to call back in half an hour, but the resident didn’t hear any more from them and reported the matter to police.
Police are still investigating whether bank accounts have been accessed.
They urge residents not to give cold callers remote access to their computer, or to release bank account or other details to them.
Last week police warned they had received a number of reports of scammers trying to get iTunes vouchers from potential victims.
