The State Attorney General's Office is warning consumers about a new scam.
Amy Schallop of the Attorney General's Consumer Fraud Bureau says scam artists are posing as representatives of Microsoft. They're calling consumers out of the blue telling them that there is a problem with their personal computer. “And then the scam artists offer to correct the problem and try to get the consumer to grant them access the computer remotely. And then they walk the consumer through certain steps that eventually does give them access to their computer.”
Schallop says the scam artists then tell the consumer they need to pay up to $300 to have the problems corrected.
The Attorney General's Office is advising consumers to hang up if they do get such a call, and to not give out passwords or credit card information to anyone on the phone. If you do fall victim to the scam, a complaint can be filed with the New York State Attorney General’s Consumer Hotline at (800) 771-7755 or www.ag.ny.gov