Ledbury Focus November 2019 Ledbury Focus November 2019 v3 | Page 62

Telephone & Internet Scams O ne of the items covered in this month’s article from West Mercia Police is about scams, and I would like warn our readers about a new one that is on the go. As with most scams, this one starts with a telephone call. When you answer the phone, you will hear a recorded message telling you that your Amazon Prime account will be automatically renewed within the next 24 hours at a cost of £9.99 per month. The message goes on to say that if you want to cancel this, you should press 1 to speak to an operator. This is a particularly clever scam, because like many people, I regularly shop on Amazon, and thought that perhaps I had inadvertently signed up for Amazon Prime during one of my purchases. So, I pressed 1 to speak to an operator. I then got through to what sounded like an Indian call centre. Still thinking I was talking to someone about Amazon Prime, I told the operator I wanted to cancel the account. She said she would send me a cancellation form, but in order to do that she would need to connect me to their (computer) server. She asked me to simultaneously press the letter R and the Windows key on my keyboard (between the Ctrl and Alt keys). This brought up the Run box into which she asked me to type the URL www.teamviewer.com. Fortunately, I am familiar with Teamviewer, and know that it is a facility that allows a third party on an external computer to take control of a computer remotely. Had I done as she asked, this would have given her complete control and access to my computer both then, and at any time in the future. When I asked her why she wanted control of my computer, she promptly hung up. I then dialled 1471 to get the phone number, which I tried to call and which of course was a fake one. Please warn others about this scam, especially vulnerable people who might be taken in by it. Editor Three Counties Physiotherapy Abbey Smythe BSc MCSP HCPC Chartered Physiotherapist 30 years' experience Rapid access service to accelerate your recovery "Cannot recommend enough. DK" ’’’’’ call Abbey on: 0759 737 6483 E: [email protected] 62 To advertise call 01684 833715 or email: [email protected]