The 83-year-old woman, who lives in Dumbarton, received a phone call around 5pm on Tuesday, July 8 from a woman with an Indian accent claiming to work for Microsoft Service Centre who told her she required urgent security updates. The call was then transferred to a man who spoke with a similar accent and claimed to be head technician for Microsoft Computer Services.

He then instructed the victim to carry out various tasks on her PC before informing her the software was now up-to-date. The victim was then told she had to pay £145.44 for the software update and provided him with her debit card details.

Dumbarton Community Inspector Neil Smith told the Reporter: “This type of crime is unfortunately becoming more prevalent. I would urge the public to be vigilant when speaking to unsolicited callers who may in fact be fraudsters trying to elicit personal financial information. “The best way to avoid becoming a victim of this type of fraud is to remember that your bank or the police will never ask for details of your bank card and PIN numbers over the phone, and you should never divulge these to anyone, at any time.” Last month, West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) issued a warning to residents about a similar Microsoft scam after several residents across the authority were targeted.

At the time, Microsoft advised scammers could not only target people as they did the 83-year-old woman but they may also try and take control of a computer remotely and adjust settings to leave it vulnerable.

As well as this, fraudsters may also request credit card information so they can charge for phony services and direct people to fake websites where they input credit card and other personal or financial information.

Neither Microsoft nor their partners make unsolicited phone calls to charge for computer security or software fixes.

Typically the callers claim to be from one of the following: Windows Helpdesk, Windows Service Center, Microsoft Tech Support, Microsoft Support, Windows Technical Department Support Group or Microsoft Research and Development Team.