FILE 2012-55

January 24, 2012

The Port Moody Police Department would like to warn residents to be aware of a telephone based computer scam commonly referred to the “ammyy scam”. The scam is believed to be based out of India and is designed to remotely access the information on your computer, extort
money and commit identity fraud.

The Ammyy scam is quite simple; someone claiming to be “remote support care” from a reputable computer company such as Microsoft or Windows XP will contact you at home and tell you that there is a problem with your computer (usually a virus of some sort).

The scammers may gain your trust by providing you with easily discoverable information about yourself such as your name, address or phone number.
The scammer will tell you that they must access your computer remotely to stop it from “crashing.” In order to gain access they will direct you to the www.ammyy.com website, have you run the remote tool and give them the ID provided. This gives the scammer complete remote access to your computer, thus enabling them to download all of your personal information in minutes and upload viruses, malware, key stroke recorders etc.

The scammer will also state that you need to pay the company for the removal of the “viruses” on your computer and ask for your credit card information.
While the ammyy.com program and company have legitimate purposes when used between two trusted parties, it is being used by scammers as a means of stealing your information for criminal purposes.

How to protect yourself: Anyone can call your number claiming to be someone else. Companies like Microsoft do not call their customers to report viruses, nor does your internet service provider. Never install, run or allow remote access to a person / company without being 100% certain of who they are.
If you believe the person is a scammer, hang up the phone and notify your local Police department. If you’ve allowed them access to your computer immediately turn it off, unplug your internet and take your computer to a local computer store to be checked for spyware, malware and any other viruses. Change your passwords and monitor your credit card bills. If you provided the scammer with a credit card, contact the credit card company. You can also take proactive steps by checking the internet for active scams.