Software king of the world, Microsoft, has been helping Inspector Knacker of the Birmingham Yard finger the collars of some software fraudsters.
A Birmingham man and a woman and a bloke from Swindon have been detained by police and released pending further investigation. A 65 year old woman was questioned, while another suspect is still being hunted.
Microsoft claimed that the suspects were involved in scams that would see a member of the public receive a phone call or pop-up on their computer claiming there was something wrong.
The scammers would use this as a means to gain remote access to the computer and they would install malware or nick personal data.
Microsoft said it supported National Trading Standards and the police with “specialist investigative services”.
Abrahim Bakhtiar, senior attorney at Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit, said: “Criminals are always seeking new and increasingly clever ways to deceive people and steal their money. We’d like to reassure everyone that Microsoft will never cold call you unexpectedly to offer tech support or send you pop-ups on your computer asking you to call a number.”
Vole has previously helped to jail a con artist who robbed victims of more than £400,000.
Jonathan Frost of City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau said: “If you receive an unexpected call from anyone suggesting that there is a problem with your computer, you should simply hang up.
“Criminals claim that computers have been infected with malware or viruses, they may also offer you a refund in connection with your internet service or suggest that your bank account is being targeted by cybercriminals.”
