Woman loses $100,000 in fake tech support scam. Here’s how you can try to stay safe.
By Mahsa Saeidi
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NEW YORK (WCBS) — A Brooklyn woman was scammed out of $100,000 in an elaborate scheme involving a frozen computer, an in-person meeting and a secret code word.
As police search for the alleged scammer, the woman spoke exclusively on-camera with CBS News New York investigator Mahsa Saeidi.
The retired accountant did not want to be identified, but she feels she must share her story.
“I was mortified. I literally considered suicide,” the woman said.
On a July afternoon, her laptop froze. Then, her phone rang. The caller claimed he was from Microsoft.
“He said, we’re sorry, we let this big virus through and we want to refund you the premium you paid,” the woman said.
Since the virus protection failed, the caller authorized a refund, but instead of $10, he said he accidentally deposited $100,000.
The victim says the caller told her, “Oh my god, we made such a mistake … You’ve got to get that money out right away.”
She saw $100,000 deposited in one her bank accounts, so she wanted to do the right thing and return it.
The bank teller asked if she was under duress. When she said no, the withdrawal was approved. A few hours after the first call, she met the courier.
“He will say to you that he is Andy and the code word is ‘red,'” the victim said.
She handed over the envelope with $100,000 cash – a third of her life savings – to the man.
“Oh my god. How could I possibly fall for this?” the victim said.
It turned out the money the scammers deposited into the woman’s account was actually her own money from a different account.
It’s still unclear know they gained access to her accounts in the first place. They were able to take $100,000 from a trust fund account that she managed and put it into her personal checking account.
She didn’t know the money had been taken out, and she says when she went to the bank, they didn’t tell her about all the financial activity that had happened that day.
“That’s all they had to do was look at the transfer. Say to me when I went there, ‘did you make a transfer?’ And the answer would’ve been no,” the woman said.
Microsoft says tech support scams are an industry-wide issue, but tech companies don’t call you directly, and they don’t ask you to call them.
“It’s going on all over the city,” said Jeanine Launay, the elder abuse unit chief for the Manhattan district attorney’s office. “If you get a pop-up on your computer screen, don’t call the number on the screen. Turn off your computer, unplug it.”
If the scammer already has all your personal information, you should stop communicating, reset your device and change your passwords.
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