Strongsville residents are again being targeted in a scam in which a caller offers to "fix" your computer over the phone.
Here's how it works: A caller claims to be from Microsoft or a similar company and says you have a virus on your computer.
He asks you to turn on the computer and walks you through steps to fix it.
"You're actually giving someone access to your computer," Deputy Chief John Janowski said.
The hacker looks for information like passwords and bank account numbers on the hard drive. Even worse, he can install a program that steals new information as you enter it.
He may say he's found viruses, and try to get you to pay -- by giving him your credit card number -- to fix them. In fact, he may have installed viruses.
If you get a call like that, decline the fix and hang up, no matter how sincere or knowledgeable the caller sounds, Janowski said.
"Don't let anyone have access to your computer," he said.