Theewaterskloof |Bredasdorp | Napier
Year 3 • Tuesday 25 June 2013 | Tel. 028 214 1294
www.bolandgazette.co.za bolandgazette.mobi
So Solid in their support for the needy
After the Gazette’s appeal for blankets to be donated to the needy, the So Solid Crew, a group of car enthusiasts from Caledon, opened their wallets for charity. From the left are Byron Lombard, Denovan Louskitt, Ryan Swartz (chairperson), Marquin Sauls, Daryl Cronje, Jaegher-Leigh Julies, Darren Julies and Suné Otto. They will donate the blankets to Greyton Kruishuis (see p. 5). PHOTO: ANNETTE THERON
Scamsters target locals ANNETTE THERON
Fraudsters using a computer support scam to obtain credit card details illegally, seem to have stolen thousands of rands from victims in Caledon. The worldwide scam first reared its head in 2008, but the frequency with which it was reported by locals in recent weeks, prompted local computer business Benliekor to send a warning to its 300-strong client base. Residents interviewed by the Gazette each lost more than R2 000 after supplying their credit card details in return for bogus Microsoft support. Henry Holloway, a well-known and respected Caledon resident, also a broadcaster on Fine Music Radio
with listeners across the world, says he was caught by these scamsters when a woman phoned one Saturday evening in March. “I can’t remember where she said she was calling from, but she sounded very official and told me there was a problem and she wanted to help me solve it.” She asked Holloway to sit at his computer while she instructed him to navigate towards a link which indicated he supposedly had various viruses on his computer. “She said she would help me to kill these viruses and told me to click on various links, which I did, and, being a trusting person, I thought she was helping me. With hindsight, I realise she was leading me down the garden path.”
Her “manager” took over from her and started asking more personal computer details. “I can’t remember whether he asked me for any of my passwords but he asked me to click on various links and asked for personal details about myself, my email address, my cell phone number, my name – I gave it to them because they both gave me the impression that they were Microsoft employees.” Holloway’s wife, Marilyn, who heard him sharing such details, phoned a relative for advice in the meantime. “She almost had a heart attack and told Marilyn to tell me to put the phone down immediately, but it was too late. They had my bank details.” The man posing as a technician
asked for credit card details to purchase a software package that would protect his computer, he was told. FNB cancelled his credit card that Monday, but by then about R2 000 had been stolen from the account. A Caledon businessman, who was also scammed but preferred to remain anonymous, said the scamsters play on people’s fear and tell them their computer is about to crash. “They called me a year ago and this year they called me about six times.” He says they told him they can see corrupt files on his system. “They then log in and you can see there is someone who is running a programme to supposedly try and clean your computer. “I gave them my credit card details and they managed to steal R2 000. I
want to warn other people not to talk to anyone but their own service provider about any computer issues.” Pieter Esterhuizen, owner of Benliekor, says he decided to send out a warning via email because many of their clients have been caught in this scam. JB Esterhuizen, an IT specialist at Benliekor, says trusting computer users shouldn’t be fooled. Users would most likely be called by a representative, on behalf of companies going by the name to the likes of Virtual PC Support, IT Tech Support, or Microsoft Tech Support. “Be careful and refuse to answer any of their questions, or follow through with any of their suggestions – they are a disgrace to this industry.”