PITTSBURGH — An old computer scheme is rearing its ugly head again in southwest Pennsylvania as criminals are finding ways to get into computers to steal money and personal identities.
Bill O'Neil loves putting on his favorite music and playing computer solitaire. But, this computer isn't just for fun. He also has financial information on it.
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"I'll check my bank account," said O'Neil.
Recently, that information was put at risk. O'Neil got a phone call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft. They told him his computer was somehow busted, and they could fix it remotely for only $200.
"I should have known something. It took me awhile to figure it out," said O'Neil.
O'Neil paid the money, and a few days later, the computer suddenly wouldn't work. Two more phone calls and two more charges followed with no success.
Eventually, O'Neil took his computer to Crucial Computers in Greenfield. Tech expert Steve Teague told him criminals have been hacking into his hard drive and ripping him off.
"There were viruses, there were spyware. It was a very malicious attack," Teague said to Channel 11's Katherine Amenta.
It's a scheme Channel 11 has covered for years. Once callers have remote access to computers they can steal personal information and charge on credit cards for months.
Teague says in the last year, he's worked on about three dozen of these cases, but he's heard about more than 100.
He says that Microsoft will never call anyone to fix their PC or clean off a virus. It's a lesson O'Neil had to learn the hard way.
Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission have both posted warnings on their websites for this scheme.
The FTC says:
- Never rely on caller ID to confirm if someone is legit. Caller ID can be faked through something called "spoofing".
- Never give credit card information to someone who claims to be from tech-support.
- No legitimate company will ever ask for computer passwords.