Warning from Suffolk Police about computer scams

Following an increased number of calls to Suffolk Police in the past few days from residents who have fallen victim to telephone scams Suffolk Constabulary is reminding all residents to seek professional advice if you’re not sure about a cold call.

Currently the most common scam is when you receive a call from someone claiming to be from a company such as “Microsoft”. In this situation, the caller may claim there’s an issue with your computer and will ask you to go to a website and download some virus protection software.

Companies like Microsoft would not contact you in this way and if you receive a call similar to this hang up. If you have an issue, call the company directly.

Seek out reviews and references for companies that you haven’t used before, either via the internet or when looking for a trader you can use Suffolk Trusted Trader.

Suffolk Trusted Trader is a directory of local tradesmen who have been checked by Suffolk County Council Trading Standards and made a commitment to treat their customers fairly.

Consumers give feedback on the traders they have used and details of the traders can be found here.

I am sorry that the previous link (copied from the Suffolk Police press release I am afraid) led to a page in Japanese!  Thanks to the correspondent who pointed this out to me in the comment below.