Very Small PatchTelephone Fraud – On Saturday, April 20, 2013, a resident of Laurel Blvd., Lanoka Harbor, reported that he was contacted by telephone at approximately 1:00 p.m. from a male subject identifying himself as an employee from Microsoft. The caller’s phone number appeared as 315-625-1818. The caller informed the resident that there was a problem with his computer, and he needed to remotely access the resident’s computer to make the repair. The fraudulent representative began asking the resident questions and at one point put another male on the phone who identified himself as a supposed supervisor from Microsoft. This subject advised the resident that he could not repair the computer remotely unless the resident first rendered payment. The resident realized the call was suspicious and hung up. He later contacted Microsoft who advised him they never had anyone call him. The phone number which appeared on the caller ID was not actually in service.

Residents should be aware that it is has become more common for companies and individuals to mask their telephone number and set the caller ID information to read something to suit their purpose. In this instance, the information was a phone number that was out of service, whereas the fraudulent caller may also set the caller ID information to read a company name.