Computer Scams: Police Warn Of Giving Remote Access

DENVER, CO — Denver police are warning residents of recent scams involving victims allowing remote access to their computers. Authorities described one of the scams they dealt with in March.

Police said the victim called who she thought was Hewlett Packard to get photo paper cheaper than going to the store. She got the number from an acquaintance, police say.

Instead of HP, she talked to the suspect, a man, who told her he would need to install a program on her computer. This was to monitor her paper usage so they would be alerted when she needed more, he told her.

The victim allowed access to her computer and let the suspect install the program, which cost her nearly $200, police say.

The next day, the suspect called the victim and told her they would have to refund her money because of an error in the program installation. Again, the victim allowed access and the suspect installed a program which made it seem the victim was refunded $1,000.

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The suspect then continually called the victim telling her to withdraw the funds and to send it to him, or he'd be fired. That's when the victim called police.

She realized the scam quickly enough to cancel the initial $200 payment.

"Unfortunately, we have seen similar reports where victims are granting remote access to their computers and allowing programs to be installed by scammers," Denver police say.

In all of these such scams, refunds are always promised, police say. "The moral of the story here is don’t allow remote access to your devices to anyone unless you know and are able to verify that person."