I Just Won One Million Sterling With My PC.

I might well consider retiring based on the latest email to land in my inbox informing me I’ve won the yahoo lottery and am now the beneficiary of one million sterling. Wow! And the amazing thing is I didn’t even enter the lottery. All I have to do is supply my bank account details, together with my address and interestingly the also want a copy of my passport and driving license. The address is an English one so I guess if I didn’t know better what could I lose by replying?  
The answer: My identity and probably every last penny I own.

This latest offer comes on top of the two I received recently: one telling me I won the Coco Cola Olympics 2012 lottery and the other one telling me a long lost cousin might have left me money. This is just a sample of the scams currently circulating the internet and replying or engaging with them can cost you a fortune. Below I’ve outlined some of the more prevalent scams. In all cases the advice is not to engage in any way with the scammers.


Scam No 1. Fake Calls From Microsoft or Anti-virus Company.
This particular scam begins with a telephone call from an individual telling you that Microsoft or some other company has detected a problem with your computer. The scammer will try to scare you and perhaps may suggest you are virus infected, your computer has been hacked, or some other problem which in may cases leads people to follow the scammers instructions.

Fact: Neither Microsoft nor any other anti-virus or software company will ever contact you by phone to tell you that you are virus infected or have been hacked.

Action: If you receive one of these calls simply hang up the phone. Do not engage with the scammer. Remember he does this for a living and is well used to conning people.

Scam No 2. Free Anti-virus /System Checks On The Internet.
This is probably the most lucrative scam out there and I’ve seen cases of people conned out of 80 euro, and more  by these people. It begins with you downloading so called free anti-virus or free system health checks and ends with fake messages telling you your machine is virus infected, hacked, cracked and just about to explode!

Action: Call me (preferably!) or another professional computer technician and get expert help or you’ll end up with a disabled machine.