SCAMMERS are targeting unsuspecting local residents, draining their bank accounts of thousands of dollars.
Oscar Aertssen of Kerang Computers said there had been increased incidents within the shire in the last few weeks and he’s urging residents to be vigilant.
The warning comes after a Kerang resident recently lost $14,800 to scammers, while a Quambatook resident lost $6000.
“Nobody can afford to lose that sort of money,” Mr Aertssen said.
“Unfortunately, it happens all the time.”
Mr Aertssen said the locality of these crimes, and the fact they were so close to home was a timely reminder for residents to be aware.
“These people have been so distraught, hysterical almost.”
He said in both instances, they started with a cold call, notifying the owners that something was wrong with their computer.
Mr Aertssen said there had been an increase in these types of scams since COVID emerged.
“I used to come across one every few months but recently I’ve seen three in 10 days,” he said, noting age and location was no barrier to the scammers.
“They don’t care where they get their money from,” Mr Aertssen said.
He urged residents to never follow instructions to download programs onto their computer over the phone, as this usually resulted in providing remote access to the scammer.
“The only person that can fix a computer is the one in front of it,” Mr Aertssen said.
“You can’t diagnose a problem remotely to fix it.”
