Police are warning residents to be vigilant after a rise in cases of computer software service fraud in Surrey, especially among vulnerable victims.
Since the start of the year, there have been 76 reports made to Surrey Police of computer software service fraud. Many of the victims have been women over the age of 75.
Of these 76 reports, 34 victims suffered an average loss of £4,460, a combined loss of £151,640.
Common scenarios also include callers pretending to be from reputable organisations. One victim aged 73, received a call on her landline from a person telling her that her Virgin Media internet router needed changing.
As she had been having problems with the router, the call seemed legitimate and when the caller asked for her bank details and a copy of her driving license, she handed them over. The victim later found out that over £2,000 had been taken from her bank by the scammers.
Another victim, 88, received a call from someone claiming to work for BT who needed to gain access to his computer. Fortunately, he realised that this did not add up and did…
