PORTLAND, Maine - AARP Maine is warning residents of a new telephone scam that's hitting the state, designed to bypass people's computer security.
"This is the first time that we've heard about it," says Jane Margesson, from AARP.
Margesson says the scam came to light this morning after several residents of Aroostook County reported receiving a telephone call from a bogus company claiming to be investigating a computer virus.
"And they were asking these residents to provide their computer passwords and other personal information, presumably so they could then go straight into that person's computer and essentially hijack the computer."
Margesson says the scammers are often threatening and persistant, calling up to 70 times in a single day.
Anyone receiving a call - or any call from a stranger asking for sensitive information - is asked to contact the Maine Attorney General's Office.
