Ireland has been hit this week by a series of scammers who call unsuspecting people to inform them that their computer or app has a problem, they ask you to visit websites which may disable your antivirus by containing viruses. Please be aware this is not Microsoft and Microsoft never call customers if there is a problem with your computer, especially one you didn’t know you had. If you we’re dupped into give your laser or credit card details, cancel the cards immediately and notify the issuing bank.

At the moment the scam is using the business name CISTRON, but no doubt soon after this post is published they will start using a different name.

The real Mircosoft released this description of the manner in which it describes the rough layout of the calls, based on thousands of complaints.

” * A cold caller, claiming to be a representative of Microsoft, one of its brands or a third party contracted by Microsoft, tells the victim they are checking into a computer problem, infection or virus that has been detected by Microsoft.
* They tell the victim they can help and direct them to a website that then allows the scammers to take remote control of the computer.
* The cold caller will then spend some time on the computer trying to demonstrate where the ‘problems’ are and in the process convinces the victim to pay a fee for a service that will fix the computer.

As with any cold call scam the best proceedure is to hang up the phone and pay absolutely no attention.