Conned by the "Windows Technical Support" scam

Brent Woodard, Letter to the Editor

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I was scammed. I answered the phone, and a man said he was from “Window’s Technical Support” stating that they had detected viruses on my computer and were calling to clean it up. “Have you noticed your computer running slow recently?” he asked. I had. Maybe this was the bait that drew me to the hook. He then had me look at files which showed problems with the computer. I thought I would go along for a while, ready to say “no” when I got the scent of a scam. Maybe my nose was stuffed-up that day.


I followed instructions long enough to let this man have control of our computer. It’s not a good feeling when you see some stranger moving the curser around on your screen. When it came time for me to buy some supposed anti-virus software, fortunately my own “crap-detector” was running better by this time. So I didn’t buy anything or give a credit-card number. But the guy still crashed our computer, which wasn’t very nice of him, especially since I had been good enough to give him several minutes of heightened anticipation at ripping me off. Yes I know I should have known better. But I know more now, and thought I would share it with you.

-Brent Woodard, Pincher Creek

Editor's note:  This is a scam that has been going on for years, surprisingly with very little permutation.  The latest RCMP bulletin about it was released on January 31, 2014 by the St. Albert RCMP, and is actually part of our upcoming RCMP report summary for tomorrow.  It is included below.

Microsoft scam (St. Albert RCMP press release)

St. Albert RCMP is cautioning the public, after receiving a report of a phone scam still circulating in the St. Albert area. The scam has also been seen across Canada for over 2 years.

Someone who claims to work for Microsoft, Windows etc is calling individuals saying that their computer runs slow or that they have a virus. The caller offers to repair the computer over the Internet, by installing anti-virus software, or asking the customer to allow the representative remote access to their computer. The customer is asked to pay for the software or repair service using a credit card.

The St. Albert RCMP is reminding people not to give out any personal information over the phone and to report any suspicious calls to your local police. Complaints can also be registered with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center at 1-888-495-8581, or www.antifraudcentre.ca