Garda warning over computer scam

Gardai are warning people of a scam that is doing the rounds in the area in the past week where a person phones claiming to be from Microsoft. The warning comes after a woman was scammed of over €500.
This scam was in operation some time ago but new incidents are being reported to gardai and in one case, a woman in the Kilmessan area had over €500 stolen from her after falling victim to the con in the past week.
In this case, she received a call from a foreign number and the caller claimed to be from Microsoft and said he needed remote access to her computer. He obtained the woman’s Visa Debit card number and she had over €500 taken from her account.
Three other incidents were reported in the Trim Garda District where householders received similar calls but did not give their details and reported the matter to gardai.
Sergeant Tom Mahon of Trim Garda Station is warning people who receive such calls or emails not to respond and to immediately report it to their local garda station. He said under no circumstances should a person give access to their computer or their card details.
Sgt Mahon is warning people to be aware of this fraud and said once there is a mention of debit and credit cards, or allowing remote access to their computer, to immediately contact gardai.