All it takes is a simple click on your computer and you've been hacked.
"This is definitely a scam and I hope no one falls for it," said Abilene resident Leland Powers.
It almost happened to Leland Powell .
He received a phone call from "Microsoft Maintenance Technologies" with a warning.
"They kept saying that the computer was going to crash in two to three days if I didn't give them some information," said Powell.
Except he soon realized their real identities and the scam they're trying to run.
Especially after he returned their call- this time to confront them.
This is what they had to say after they believed Powell had opened up their website, but said he didn't want to pay:
"What I can tell you- you have resumed your crash now within 24 hours it's for sure," said the man on the other line who identified himself as Max.
Many scammers aren't just looking for your credit card information.
They want you to open up a specific site- click on the tab giving them all kinds of access to your computer.
"It's what they "call phising", said Paul Freed, computer technician at Your Way in Abilene, "And basically it's a criminal that's trying to get your information and trying to load something on your computer."
Freed says he receives multiple calls a week about this type of scam- most of the time it's too late.
"As soon as your machine runs that page it runs the script which is a little program," he said, "and that starts putting files onto your computer and those files are what bring the virus onto your computer."
That's when they try to take your money to fix it- except they still leave you with a crashed computer.
Powell knows he's no computer expert, so did the one thing he's sure he knows to do, simply hang up.
Experts say more and more scammers are using a device called a "Magic Jack" used to make it appear as though they're calling from a local number when they are really calling from overseas.
"This is definitely a scam and I hope no one falls for it," said Abilene resident Leland Powers.
It almost happened to Leland Powell .
He received a phone call from "Microsoft Maintenance Technologies" with a warning.
"They kept saying that the computer was going to crash in two to three days if I didn't give them some information," said Powell.
Except he soon realized their real identities and the scam they're trying to run.
Especially after he returned their call- this time to confront them.
This is what they had to say after they believed Powell had opened up their website, but said he didn't want to pay:
"What I can tell you- you have resumed your crash now within 24 hours it's for sure," said the man on the other line who identified himself as Max.
Many scammers aren't just looking for your credit card information.
They want you to open up a specific site- click on the tab giving them all kinds of access to your computer.
"It's what they "call phising", said Paul Freed, computer technician at Your Way in Abilene, "And basically it's a criminal that's trying to get your information and trying to load something on your computer."
Freed says he receives multiple calls a week about this type of scam- most of the time it's too late.
"As soon as your machine runs that page it runs the script which is a little program," he said, "and that starts putting files onto your computer and those files are what bring the virus onto your computer."
That's when they try to take your money to fix it- except they still leave you with a crashed computer.
Powell knows he's no computer expert, so did the one thing he's sure he knows to do, simply hang up.
Experts say more and more scammers are using a device called a "Magic Jack" used to make it appear as though they're calling from a local number when they are really calling from overseas.
