By Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa)

Iowans are being reminded to steer clear of popups or emails that claim your computer or phone is infected with a virus.

Lisa Schiller, a spokeswoman for the Better Business Bureau, says her office is seeing more and more of these customer support scams lately.

“It’s something that works,” Schiller says. “It works for the con artist, and so they’ll continue to perpetuate that they are a person or a business that they are not in order to gain your money, your trust, your personal information.”

The bogus warnings about viruses may look very authentic, but Schiller says it’s all a ploy to gain access to your computer or phone.

“They’re casting a wide net, is what they’re doing and reeling in whoever and whatever they can,” she says.

One new wrinkle is an increase in scams targeting Apple users. Scammers have a new tool that can be used to access Apple accounts through Safari, so iPhone and iPad users should also be vigilant for popups and unwanted apps.