PRESS RELEASE from the Nelson Police Department

The Nelson Police Deptartment would like to remind the public to be wary of a computer/telephone fraud scam that is currently active in the Nelson area.

Nelson Police Department

In the scheme, fraudsters posing as company representatives cold call individuals and state that, for example, their computer is running slow or has viruses. They then offer to repair the computer over the Internet, which can involve the installation of software or the customers allowing the representatives remote access to their computer. Payment for the software or repair service is handled via credit card.

Allowing a third party to download software or remotely access a computer carries inherent risks. Keyloggers or other malicious software could be installed to capture sensitive data such as online banking user names and passwords, bank account information, identity information and the like.

For more information, the public is encouraged to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre.ca or your local police.