A computer scam that has sent hundreds of Canadians scurrying for tech support help is making its presence felt in Waterloo Region. The ‘scareware’ scam exists in a variety of forms, but generally starts with an email purporting to be from the RCMP or another police service. If the email is opened, the scareware is activated – locking the user’s computer and making it impossible to use without serious technical know-how. In addition, the scareware looks like an official notice from police, informing the user of supposed inappropriate computer usage and demanding the payment of a $100 fine to unlock the computer. Kitchener resident Cory Eldridge was hit with the scam earlier this week. “I went in my junk email and there was one that said ‘Attention Cory, must open,” he tells CTV. “I shouldn’t have opened it, but I did and it went to a screen I’d never seen before. It said I violated some code and I needed to pay a fine.” In Eldridge’s case, the program also took a photo of him through his webcam – something which added an extra layer of authenticity to the scam. Still, he called the RCMP to make sure he was seeing something legitimate. As he quickly learned, he wasn’t. “The RCMP does not freeze peoples’ computers and ask them to pay fines of any amount to unfreeze their computer,” says Cpl. Judith Falbo of the RCMP’s Kitchener detachment. The RCMP have been aware of the scam for several months, but say it’s picked up steam lately. “We actually had someone come into our office … to pay a fine of $100. We had no idea what he was talking about,” says Falbo. Since that first encounter with the scareware, the Kitchener detachment alone has received approximately 50 calls about it – and that’s only the victims who call to double-check. Hung Doan, owner of the Saigontek computer store in Kitchener, says he’s had about 30 customers come in looking to break free of the scareware. “Some people are scared,” he says, noting that the usual solution involves formatting the computer’s hard drive and reinstalling its operating system. That’s what happened to Eldridge. “He had to pretty much wipe the whole computer, the hard drive, any data on there,” he says. Falbo says anyone affected by the scareware should not pay the fine and should take their computer in for tech support. CTV’s Tracy Tong will have more on this story tonight on CTV News at Six.
