A woman was reduced to tears by phone scammers who tried to bully her into giving away her personal details.

The 39-year-old, from Crown Wood, received calls at home over a number of days from an unknown number, by people claiming her computer was infected with viruses.

The woman, who asked not be named, said: “I am aware of the numerous telephone scams, trying to lure people into giving away personal details, so thankfully I didn’t fall for it.

“But I worry for others – if they get to someone elderly, disabled or vulnerable they may take advantage.”

How to prevent nuisance calls

An “assertive” woman claiming to be from ‘Technical Department Ltd’ first called the mother-of-two on Friday, June 15, saying her computer needed to be cleaned of viruses.

After being asked for her name and number the caller hung up.

After phoning the police, the Crown Wood resident believed that “this was it”, but on Monday, June 18, she got a phone call from an “assertive and patronising” man claiming to be from Microsoft.

The woman said the man claimed he needed to remotely access her computer to perform some checks and when she asked for his phone number he hung up.

Two days later, a man claiming to be from the first company called the victim with the same request and she asked him to leave her alone.

She said: “He then kept calling me back, insulting me and telling me to do as I was told.”

The woman received more than 15 calls within an hour and said she was sworn at and threatened.

She said: “I was really frightened – I was scared they might get to me and my family as it made me feel like they were watching me.

“I thought why me and why so many times and why insult me?”

The police, advised her to report the incident to www.actionfraud.org.uk – a website that records scams across the UK and offers advice.

The woman was advised to not enter into conversation with callers and to never give out personal details over the phone.

She said she wants to make people aware about the scam because her neighbours have had problems in the past month.

She said: “I am strong enough to deal with it but I worry for others.”

A police spokesman said: “This is a well known scam. People who receive these types of calls should report it to Ofcom and register with the Call Prevention Registry.

“We advise that people do not disclose personal details or bank account information.”

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