Riverbank It management

"I was sitting at home one evening working on the computer when they phone rang. It was Microsoft warning me that they had a report of a virus infection on my computer. They would like to run a free scan on the computer to check it." So began the lament of a friend who got caught by this scam.

With 20:20 hindsight it's obvious that the call wasn't genuine, but it's not so obvious if you are taken by surprise. This particular episode ended with demands for money to remove the alleged viruses. Refusal to pay led to threats and obscenities being written on the computer screen by the people who now had remote access to it - very disturbing when it's happening in your home.

Six months on this scam is still running and yesterday made an appearance in the national press. It seems that the frequency of calls is increasing.

 So if you get an unsolicited call from a nice person at Microsoft, just hang up.