Burnham-On-Sea Police have this week warned computer users in the town to be on their guard after a resident was seemingly targeted by fraudsters.
Inspector Roger Tolley from Burnham Police says an anonymous telephone caller demanded money from a 61-year-old resident.
When she refused to pay, she found her computer’s data had been deleted over the Internet.
Inspector Tolley told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The woman was contacted by telephone by a cold caller who said her computer had been hacked and needed to be urgently checked.”
“The anonymous caller offered to remotely log on to her PC in order to fix the issue – and asked for a large payment to do this.”
“He warned the lady that if she didn’t pay up, her computer’s data would be wiped.”
“She refused to pay and put the phone down but found a short time later that all her PC’s desktop icons and software had been deleted.”
“She’s understandably quite shaken by what happened and has not been able to reinstate her computer’s files or software.”
Inspector Tolley added: “This is an unusual case and our investigations are ongoing, but fraud is on the increase locally and the case serves as a timely warning.”
“We advise residents to treat any unsolicited calls with skepticism and to be aware of the potential dangers. Be flexible in your approach to security.”
