Derbyshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service has received reports from consumers who have received a ‘pop-up’ type message on their home computer screen informing them their computer has a virus, and that it may be removed for a fee of £75.
To appear more official, the message purports to be from the Police Central E-Crime Unit, PO Box 36451, London EC2M 4WN.
This is untrue, as the Police would not contact members of the public regarding any potential computer issue nor would they contact them in this manner.
Do not respond to the message and if possible, delete the message. Please do not attempt to forward it to anyone else as this may spread the problem to more computers.
Unfortunately, the ‘pop-up’ message has potential to lock and freeze your computer. Derbyshire Trading Standards Service would advise that if this happens, you seek professional help and advice in order to repair your computer.
If you receive the ‘pop-up’ message above, or similar, please notify Action Fraud – a central point of contact for information about fraud and financially-motivated internet crime. Their telephone number is 0300 123 2040.
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