A PROSECUTION is expected against a company allegedly involved in making thousands of “scam” phone calls in attempts to steal financial and other personal information.
The Data Protection Commissioner’s office confirmed it had identified links in Ireland to a company based abroad that “cold-calls” people on the pretext the calls are from software giant Microsoft.
Microsoft Ireland confirmed it was receiving about 100 calls a month from people who had been scammed, leading it to believe the total number of calls to be in the thousands. The data commissioner, however, said the number of calls made from various sources may be as high as 300,000.
The perpetrators of the scam tell their victims there is a problem with their computer and offer to help solve it.
Once the caller has gained trust, they ask the person they’ve contacted to log on to a website and to download a file to help solve the problem. They then ask for credit card details to pay for software which will fix the “virus” and may also attempt to steal from the person by accessing personal information on their computer.
The computer may also then be infected with viruses and spyware.
Microsoft Ireland yesterday advised customers to treat all unsolicited phone calls “with scepticism” and not to provide any personal information to anyone over the phone or online.
Deputy data protection commissioner Gary Davis said it was difficult to pursue companies involved in the scams as they were mostly based outside Ireland. Recently, however, the commissioner has identified a company with Irish links and Irish directors and it has been working with An Garda Síochána and the National Consumer Agency to initiate a prosecution.
Mr Davis said it was hard to estimate the extent of the problem as many people taken in by such a scam would be reluctant to report it. His office is receiving “ongoing” complaints. “This thing is rife,” he said.
“In the meantime the best answer is to hang up if receiving such a call and if you have provided details of your credit card to any entity on foot of such a call, we would advise you to contact your credit card provider immediately.”
Microsoft Ireland general manager Paul Rellis said the company took the privacy and security of all its customers’ and partners’ personal information very seriously.
“We can assure you Microsoft does not make these kinds of calls,” he said.
Today is the fifth annual Council of Europe Data Protection Day and data commissioner Billy Hawkes took the opportunity to remind organisations of their data protection responsibilities.
Members of the public should also be on guard to protect their personal information from criminal gangs and other organisations, he said.