PERRY CO., IN (WFIE) -
A new phone scam has hit areas of the Tri-State, and one man is offering advice on how to not become the next victim.
We know of at least two people who have fallen victim to this latest scam. A Perry County man says he wants to spread the word about it before it hits anyone else.
Jesse Boarman says he lives in Perry County and that several people there, including himself, have received a suspicious phone call.
"I received a call from somebody claiming to be from Microsoft that stated the computer had a virus and they needed remote access to it to get rid of the virus," Boarman said.
Boarman, who runs Perry County Watch on Facebook, says the caller is not actually from Microsoft and has no intention of fixing a virus.
Instead, he says, the caller wants the victim to grant remote access to his or her computer.
"What they're actually after is personal information that may have been typed into a form. Or they'll record, like, the key strokes and stuff for credit card numbers," Boarman said.
Boarman says one man he knows fell for the scam and had to reconfigure his wireless passwords and cancel his debit and credit cards. It's a headache Boarman says you can easily avoid by simply hanging up the phone.
"As far as Microsoft, I mean, they're not going to help you unless you contacted them. If you feel like it's too good to be true, it most likely is," Boarman said.
Boarman says there isn't much police can do about this scam since the calls come from unlisted numbers and locations. But again, he says it's on you to retain your information when speaking to a stranger on the phone.
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It's a headache Boarman says you can easily avoid by simply hanging up the phone.
