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n So, the telephone rings, I answer it, and a lady introducesnherself as ‘Michelle’, which, for someone with such a heavy Indian accent, isnodd but not necessarily untrue. Michelle tells me she is ringing from Microsoftnabout the security risk posed by my computer, which, again, is odd, as I likento think of myself as pretty tech-savvy and keep my anti-virus, firewall,nmalware alerts, etc. up to date. Still, Michelle is from Microsoft, so I listennas she tells me how my computer is flagging up security alerts at Microsoft HQ,nbut she can talk me through how to fix it – which is very nice of her. Right,nMichelle tells me to look for a Windows symbol at the bottom left of my screen,n(it’s called a Start button, Michelle, but coming from Microsoft, you’d knownthat, wouldn’t you?), left click on it and then look for My Computer ornComputer. OK, you can see that, so now right click on that, and look fornManage. OK, you see that, left click on it. Which I do. OK, now describe whatnyou can see – OK, you can see Event Viewer, so can you left double click onnthat? Yes, Michelle, I can do that. Now, you see the little menu, does it havensomething called Custom Views? Yes, good, can you left click that? Does it saynAdministrative Events? Could you please click on that? Now, has a log opened upnin the middle of the window? Can you scroll down and tell me which there arenmore of, Errors or Warnings?
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nOK, you get the picture. Try it on your own computer. Looksnscary, doesn’t it? All those red exclamation marks and yellow triangles, allnthose Error and Warning alerts. Well, a nice lady called Michelle can get ridnof them for you. All you need to do is go to her website and download a specialnprogram. That will remove all the nasties in your computer. Except it won’t.nWhat it will do is give Michelle control over your computer. That’s right,nMichelle in India will be able to look in all your folders, root about and readnall your files, install anything she feels like, and copy whatever she wants.nLike your financial stuff. And your personal details. She will be able to copynyour identity. And you wouldn’t want that, would you?
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nThis scam was doing the rounds a couple of years ago, and itnlooks like it’s back.
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nI didn’t fall for it and hung up halfway through, but lotsnof people get taken in, and, it seems, then go on to pay Michelle and her chumsnfor the service, from a few quid up to about a thousand pounds. And if shencouldn’t find your credit card details on your laptop, she has them now. Do notnever – ever – let anyone take remote control of your computer. Tell yournfriends and family about the scam. Forewarned is forearmed.
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nHere is a handy website
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nIf you ring 1471 and get a number, enter it in andnread what other people have to say. I did. Michelle was ringing fromn002063971126. Naughty Michelle.
