New scam targeting laptop and desktop owners

A new scam is making the rounds that could open your hard drive to hackers.

Windows users beware. If you get a call from Microsoft tech support, experts say to hang up immediately. A new scam is making the rounds that could open your hard drive to hackers.

Becki Freeman says she's received numerous calls from the same person.

"That he's from Microsoft, and my computer has a virus, and he going to help me fix it," said Freeman.

Freeman says her gut feeling told her something wasn't right.

"He tried to get me to turn on my computer, and I said umm no," Freeman said.

Microsoft engineer Colman Ryan says Freeman did the right thing. There are signs to watch out for if you get a similar call.

"(First) they call the resident and tell them this is Microsoft, and we have been alerted that you have a virus," said Ryan.

Next, the scammer tries to gain remote access to your computer.

"They say we need you to go to this website so we can get connected into your computer and fix it," Ryan said.

Once connected, the scammers lead you to believe your computer is infected.

"They'll put scare-ware in front of you," Ryan said. "It will be a bogus program that says you have all these viruses and they need to be taken care of."

Ryan says the scam artists will lead you to believe that they are repairing your computer, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

"What they're going to do is steal data," said Ryan.

Those hackers are after data like passwords to your email, social media accounts, even online banking. Ryan says a Microsoft representative will never call to alert you of a virus. Plus most virus protection programs will alert you of any potential threats.

"If you get a call like that, my suggestion is to hang up," Ryan said.

Experts say, if you've received a call like this and let them have access to your computer, there is a strong possibility your computer could be infected with malware or other viruses. One sign could be that your computer is running a lot slower. If that's the case, you should bring it to a pro to have them clean out the hard drive.