Beware of ongoing online computer fraud
By Lone Sheep Publishing
Police say a 71-year-old Kootenay woman was cheated out of $6,000 through an online scam on Friday.
“On Friday, Nov. 22, a frontline Trail and Greater District RCMP officer received a call from a 71-year-old woman who was defrauded of $6,000 through a online computer scam,” said RCMP Sgt. Mike Wicentowich.
He said the woman noticed a message had popped up on her computer. It claimed to be from a legitimate computer company and instructed her to call a 1-800
number. She spoke to a technician
who informed her that her computer had been used to commit online computer crimes. The technician convinced her to allow remote access to her computer so he could fix it. Once he had access, he convinced her to provide banking information and helped
her transfer $6,000 electronically into a crypto-currency digital wallet.
Wicwntowich said that once the money was transferred, the woman realized she has been defrauded. She contacted her bank to informed them about the incident and installed anti-virus software on her computer to protect against future incidents. Unfortunately, the money is not recoverable.
This is a current scam that is tricking a lot of people these days. Never allow anyone remote access to your computer or download anything that they send to you. You will benefit from a good antivirus program on your computer as it will help you detect malicious software downloads and suspicious computer pop ups. If you own a computer, phone, or tablet, it is worth the investment,
Wicentowich said.
For more information on recent scams, and how to protect yourself from online fraud, please visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.
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