Residents in Ocean County are being warned of a new computer scam which is making its rounds. 

Sean Gallup, Getty Images
Sean Gallup, Getty Images
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Many people have been receiving phone calls designed to trick unsuspecting victims into giving the caller full access to their computer content, making it easy for the person to commit identity fraud.

The victim receives a phone call from a person who states they are a technician working for Microsoft and that person advises the victim that their computer has sent notifications to Microsoft letting the company know it has a virus.  The suspect directs the person to a website where they claim the issue will be corrected. Most of the victims are directed to Ammyy.com, which is a free legitimate remote control software.  If the victim complies, it allows the suspect to take remote control of the victim's computer.  Once the suspect takes control of the computer, they pretend to be searching for the falsely reported virus.  After a while, they tell the person they have corrected the problem and request credit card information.

The scam doesn't end there.  Ocean County High Tech Crime Unit has found that the caller will tell the victim that the first credit card isn't going through and one or two more are requested.  Once the phone call ends, the suspect passes the card information onto buyers who shop online and have the products shipped overseas.  Once the computer is infiltrated, the victim is forced to bring their computer in for repair.

Ocean County authorities are advising residents to never give an unknown caller passcodes or any computer access.  Any questions or concerns can be directed to 732-929-2027. For further tips on how to avoid scams, call the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs at 732-929-2105.

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