Do not fall for the Windows operating system scam

Trafford Trading Standards have issued an alert after some residents in Trafford have been receiving phone calls from an unidentified source asking to speak to them about the Windows operating system on their computer/laptop.

Cold calls, or unsolicited pop-ups, claiming to be from Microsoft or Windows is a common scam.

The caller will usually tell you that your computer has a fault or a virus and attempt to persuade you to give them remote access to your machine.

This can then allow them to steal personal information, or demand payments from you. The real Microsoft would never cold call you out of the blue offering tech support or send you pop-up messages of that kind.

Always be wary of cold callers and unexpected pop-ups when browsing, and be careful not to give out personal details over the phone or give unknown callers remote access to your computer.

To report scams, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.