Tasmania Police advise the scam referred to as the ‘Technical Support Scam’ continues to catch people out.

You will be connected to the internet, when a message will flash up on your screen.
It may be accompanied with an audible alarm to get your attention. There are a large number of different looking messages, but they all say the same thing – that there is a problem and you can get assistance by ringing a telephone number.

If you do ring the telephone number, they will ask to have remote access into your device to ‘show’ you the issue. They will then ‘show’ you what looks to be legitimate issues, but they are not. They will then sell you anti-virus software for around $500, which you will pay for by credit card, but the software will never arrive. The scammer will then search your device looking for a way into your bank accounts.

If you get any such message or warning, do NOT ring the telephone number. Turn off your device and re-start it. If you are computer savvy you will need to run a program to detect any maleware and delete it. If you are not good with computers, contact a local computer technician for assistance.

If you have telephoned the number and allowed someone to have remote access to your device, notify your banking institution immediately and turn off your device. You will need to contact a local computer technician to delete anything that has been added to your device.

Another variation of this scam is when a person calls you from a technical support company to inform you that you have a virus on your device. This is a scam, do not listen to them and just hang up.

Having up-to-date internet security software installed on all electronic devices is valuable in guarding against these types of scams.

If you have paid money, please report it to police via the  Australian Government online reporting website – www.cyber.gov.au/report