A 77 year-old Smithfield woman was conned out of $14,000 by someone claiming they wanted to fix her computer. Last month, the elderly victim said she received a phone call from a person pretending to be with Microsoft.
The caller claimed someone had compromised her home computer and they wanted to help her track down who was responsible. She agreed to allow the caller to have remote access to her computer.
Later, she agreed to send money and gift cards for their services totaling $14,000.
Microsoft does not send out unsolicited emails or make unsolicited phone calls requesting personal or financial information or offers to provide technical support. Any communication with Microsoft has to be initiated by the customer, according to their website. Technicians will never ask that you pay for support in the form of gift cards of Bitcoin.
Smithfield Police are investigating the case.
There’s a special place in hell for people that take advantage of the elderly
So sad that this lady was scammed. But I’ve seen plenty elderly people come into my job and buy gift cards to send to “grandkids” or pay for something on ebay and never receive the item. I ask questions and if I feel they’re being scammed, I will deny the sale. I’ve seen too many elderly people scammed out of money that they’ll never get back. This lady should have if able asked a family member or friend for help before doing this.