Scammers pose as Microsoft employees and take over their victim's computer and then blackmail them.

Fake Microsoft employees: Con artists are usually skilled speakers. During telephone conversations, they react quickly to information that their victims, mostly senior citizens, reveal. They use different tricks to ultimately get their victims' money and valuables.

Yesterday (November 5th) a fraudster called a 71-year-old Oberhausen resident and claimed that he was an employee of Microsoft. Apparently, after a hacker attack, he discovered an error on the Oberhausen resident's PC that absolutely needed to be fixed. He pretended that he needed access to the senior's computer to fix the "error".

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Then the criminal suddenly demanded several hundred euros in the form of gift cards, otherwise the “errors” on the PC would not be fixed. In doing so, he built up considerable psychological and time pressure. The Oberhausener was completely taken by surprise and fell for this scam.

Chief Detective Ralf Simon heads the Oberhausen Fraud Commission.

“The telephone scammers repeatedly target our seniors. They do this very systematically and specifically look for old-fashioned first names in the telephone books.

They know that the older generation is generally always very friendly and helpful. The perpetrators try to gain the trust of their victims and gain personal information. They exploit this to enrich themselves.”

The chief detective advises:

“Don’t be gullible! If strangers call, do not give out any personal information.

The perpetrators use various tricks. Alleged hacker attacks on your computer will not be resolved over the phone. Even if the caller claims to be from Microsoft and sounds convincing.

End the conversation immediately and inform us by calling 110 or using the known local telephone numbers.”

Facebook appearance of the Oberhausen police

You might also be interested in: Urgent warning about telephone scammers

Source: Oberhausen Police
Article image: SpeedKingz / Shutterstock.com


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