Dear Sir,
Please warn the readers of Newton Aycliffe about a potential telephone scam.
I was contacted recently and the number showed up as 01845 783173. The advisor with a foreign accent told me he was from Microsoft. He told me my laptop was running slow (which coincidently it is!) and had a number of virus.
The advisor asked me to hold down the window key and letter ‘r’ key which comes up with a run bar. I was advised to type “eventvwr” into this bar which I didn’t.
I believe this is a scam which allows the telephone advisor to access your laptop and all the information contained within. I told him I had switched the laptop off and would wait until my husband came home. The advisor was very persistent and told me to switch on the laptop, but I terminated the call.
I tried to call the telephone number back but the number was not recognised!
I have googled this and it is, as I suspected, a scam.
Michelle