ROCHESTER — A 68-year-old Rochester woman was scammed out of $118,000 over the course about a month, according to Rochester Police Capt. Casey Moilanen.
According to Moilanen:
She told police that she was on her computer when she received a pop-up notification that she had a virus on her computer.
After she called the 800 number provided, she gave remote access to someone on the other end who told her they got rid of the virus.
She was informed she had bank accounts connected to Chinese gambling and that she could be arrested.
The woman also talked to another scammer on the phone who pretended to be an employee of her bank.
She sent four total payments from Oct. 10 to Nov. 6 that totaled $118,000.
A quick-thinking Rochester employee was able to stop another older resident from a similar scam after she saw a 64-year-old Rochester man trying to send money through the gas station’s Bitcoin machine.
The man was on the phone with someone who was directing him on how to set up a Bitcoin wallet containing $12,400. He also appeared to not know how to use the machine, a red flag that someone might be getting scammed.
The employee called police who then convinced the man to hang up the phone. The man explained that he was notified he had a virus on his computer and he needed to deposit the money into a Bitcoin wallet.
Moilanen said that while his agency wants to respect people’s banking decisions, he urged any witnesses to call the police if they think someone is being scammed.
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