Round Rock police warning residents of new online scam
Photo courtesy: Round Rock Police Department
ROUND ROCK, Texas - The Round Rock Police Department is warning people of a new online scam in the area.
Police said a fake Microsoft Windows Defender "alert" scam is targeting people through ads and links. The links or ads appear to be from official online retailers.
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If a person clicks on the link, an alert appears from Microsoft’s Defender antivirus software in a pop-up window. It will also provide a phone number to call "Microsoft Technical Support."
Police said it's a fake error. The messages are aimed at scaring people into calling the scammer.
The RRPD is urging people to not call the number or follow the instructions provided in the fake alert.
The Round Rock Police Department recommends the following tips for recognizing online scams:
- Resist the pressure to act immediately.
- Only visit secure websites by looking for the "https" rather than "http" in the Web address bar.
- Be cautious of scammers spoofing the actual phone number of an organization they are attempting to impersonate.
- Never call a phone number provided to you by an unsolicited request. Instead, get an organization’s contact information from a trustworthy and secure website.
- Never pay someone who insists you pay with cryptocurrency, a wire transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram, or a gift card.
- Look out for grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. Phishing messages are often poorly written.