A COMPUTER shop owner from Cirencester is warning people to be on their guard after he claims he was targeted by a long-running scam.

On Tuesday Will Rittman, who runs Rock Steady Computers in The Waterloo, said he got a phone call from someone who claimed they represented Microsoft and wanted to update the software on his computer.

Will said he hung up soon into the call as he realised it was a scam. He claims he first heard about it five years ago.

Typically, Will explained, the bogus caller will be calling from an Australian or American number and will ask the person to turn off their monitor. The caller will then upload a virus and tells the victim they have to pay money to remove it.

Will added: “The virus will appear as a message from the Metropolitan Police which says ‘we believe we have seen illegal activity on this computer’.

“Unless the person agrees to pay a sum of money it will not be removed.”

He explained that scammers will also install software onto the computer which will allow them to access it and steal credit card details.

“The fact that it still exist after five years and hasn’t been shut down is worrying," he said.

If you believe you have been targeted by this type of scam call police on 101.