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Wednesday, January 18, 2017

OCPD Warning Citizens of Computer Repair Scams


OCEAN CITY, MD – : The Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) has recently seen an increase in reports of computer scams.

In each case, the victim reported being contacted in some way by an online computer repair company stating that their computer had a virus that needed to be removed. The victim would then pay the repair company hundreds of dollars through either a wire transfer, gift cards, or a fictitious online payment system. One victim lost nearly $1,000 before contacting police. In most cases, the scammer would gain remote access to the computer and rather than fix it, the scammer would create a virus.

Internet crime schemes such as these steal millions of dollars each year from unsuspecting victims across the country. The OCPD offers a few simple steps to spot similar scams:
  • Be cautious of unsolicited offers. If you didn’t ask for computer repair services, a legitimate company would not have known that it was needed.
  • Be wary if the seller only accepts wire transfers, gift cards or cash.
  • When asked to pay with a credit card through a website, ensure the site is secure and reputable before providing your credit card number.
  • Research the company before agreeing to the service. Most legitimate companies will have information about their company online, as well as customer reviews.
Any citizen that believes he/she may have been a victim of a similar crime should contact their local police department to file a report.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Since this is the Ocean City area, I will vouch for the computer repair show in West OC next to Food Lion on the road to Asseteaque. He's reliable, reasonable, and will replace an iPhone screen the same day. He has also replaced laptop screens on 2 separate occasions for me.

Anonymous said...

One of these days scammers, we older folks will get you and get you good!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hello, my name is Bob and I am a Microsoft technician....

Anonymous said...

That screen popped up on my computer a few weeks ago. It was impossible to close-out the window, forcing you to do one of two things:
1. Click on their site. (Wrong thing to do.)
2. Just turn your computer off and reboot.
If this happens to you - just turn your computer OFF.

Unknown said...

4:49 PM: Been an "older folk" computer guru since 1962, and, yes, we will do our best to protect others from the scammers. I will anyway.

-Barney

Anonymous said...

"Hello, my name is Obama and I am a Healthcare Politician".

That's the whole point!

Anonymous said...

You don't know phone scams until you live in Florida.