Cold calling with cold malware.

Malware-pushing scammers appear to be stepping up their use of telephone-based pitches, resulting in an increase in reports from the UK of high-pressure cold calls designed to trick people into installing rogue antivirus products and other nasties.

Over the past few weeks, at least two people close to The Reg — including reporter Bill Ray, who has seen his share of scams — have received the dire warnings that their PCs are riddled with malware that can be purged with just a few clicks directed by the person on the other end. On Friday, antivirus provider Eset UK, citing an increase in the calls, warned computer users to remain vigilant.