Don't fall for the Windows Service Center call scam.

I just received another call from someone claiming to work for Windows Service Center; the fellow claimed that they found that I had a very dangerous virus in my computer, and they will help me remove it. If left unchecked, it will eventually destroy my computer's memory.

If you get such a call (from 510-943-3040 or elsewhere), please know that it is a scam that has been going on for a few years, but it seems to have been revived with new vigor lately. The foreign accent used to be from Mumbai, but now it is from Beijing.

They want you to go to your computer and load a certain program that they say will help eliminate the virus; or they want you to type a special six-digit number that will give them control over your computer, where they will have access to all your files and passwords.

Even after I told the caller that I knew it was a scam, he persisted in telling me it was not. When I lost patience and called him a few choice names and told him where to go, he said he would make my life "very difficult" but still insisted he was there to help me.

For more information, just google "windows service center hoax"; don't let those scummy bastards hurt you.

C.B. VILLENEUVE

Kamloops