York Netizens Being Scammed for Financial Details

In a latest scam, netizens in York (North Yorkshire, England) are falling victim of a scam that allows cybercriminals to gain access to all the information stored on the computers of the victims.

At least a York resident has fallen for the scam after being communicated by fake Microsoft staff. He was asked by the staff to go for a software download from a website, which was asserted necessary by the company to get rid of a virus.

Sean Richards, a computer engineer based in York, stated that once a user is trapped, scammers gain access to each and everything on his PC, including passwords to his bank account or Facebook account, as per the news published by yorkpress.co.uk on April 24, 2010.

Richards recalled that four customers recently arrived at his store claiming that scammers have contacted them. One of them even said that he was now anxious of being vulnerable as he had downloaded the program.

Further details underline that the scam isn't just confined to York city. Sarah Turvey, 47, from West Street, Trowbridge, (Wiltshire, South West England) almost fell for the scam. She said that she was informed that her IP address was emanating viruses and she was bound to think about the matter as she had had some problems with her PC in the past, as per the news published by wiltshiretimes.co.uk on April 23, 2010. However, when she saw website, something appeared suspicious to her.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has said that they had learnt the matter and were investigating into it, reported wiltshiretimes.co.uk on April 23, 2010. The company said that such matters are taken very seriously by them and will thus take some appropriate action immediately. Moreover, the company noted that they never contact people directly.

Finally, in order to evade such scams, users need to adopt some simple security tips. They should timely update their anti-virus solution otherwise their computer would be highly susceptible to infection. Moreover, having firewall protection in place is also equally important to ensure the safety of confidential files and data.

Related article: York University Students Become Target of a phishing Scam

» SPAMfighter News - 5/5/2010