If you ever get such a call, hang up! It is a scam. If you pay him, not only will you lose the money you send him, but he may be able to steal more money from you in the future, without your knowledge.

I recently got such a call. Previously, I had prepared a special virtual machine so I would be ready if a scammer ever called me.

With the virtual machine, I could watch what they do once you allow them access. They can do some nasty things to capture your banking and charge card information, and any other sensitive information on your computer. They may also try to use your computer for other illegal purposes, such as fraud.

If you want to see what they do, I have written a full report that may be downloaded below:

Click here for the full report

Or click here to download a .zip file with the report

Please click the link above and save the report. To conserve bandwidth, you can download a zipped version. Once downloaded, you should be able to double click the zip file to open it, or right click the zip file to get a menu that will allow you to unzip it.

You may then view the report with any PDF reader, such as Adobe Reader. Your computer almost certainly has a suitable reader already installed.

Please share this with everyone. The more people who read the report, the fewer the number of people who will fall for this type of scam. When fighting scammers, knowledge is your best defence.