LaPorte City Police reported that a local woman was the victim of the following scam on Jan. 18, 2014:
“The victim told police she recently purchased a new Dell laptop computer and on Saturday evening, Jan. 18, she received a call on her cell phone. The male caller identified himself as “Mark Williams” and sounded like he had a foreign accent. The suspect told the victim that he was calling from Dell and informed her that her new computer had been hacked and that he was going to help her.
“The suspect instructed the victim to go to (the website) SHOWMYPC.com, which she did. The suspect confirmed the victim’s name and email address, which he already knew. Once he did this, he then had remote access over her computer and she was no longer controlling it.
“The suspect brought up an 8-digit number, which he had the victim read back. He advised her that 80% of her computer had been hacked, but that he was able to fix it for the next 15 years. He then told her she now had to pay him $99 for the service.
“The victim became suspicious and told him she was not paying him any money at this time and would call him back. The suspect was insistent that the victim pay him immediately.
“There was a message box on the computer screen which listed the suspect’s name, ID number and phone number, which she confirmed with him before she hung up. When she called the phone number, it came back as a sex hotline.
“The victim then called the Dell computer hotline and explained the incident to them. They advised her she had been the victim of a scam and her new computer had now been compromised. They advised her they would be sending her a new computer at no cost and to contact police. They advised her it was most likely an international scam.
“The victim was advised to contact her banking institutions to notify them of the incident and to contact the three major credit reporting bureaus to establish identity theft protection.”
Police advised the following steps to avoid scams:
– Never give out personal information over the phone or allow anyone access to your computer or records.
– Always be wary of unsolicited contacts over the phone, on your computer or door-to-door.
– Before agreeing to any transaction, always ask for ID and contact the company the subject claims to be affiliated with at a legitimate phone number that YOU have researched — NOT the one they provide.