Smithfield and Johnston County residents are being warned about two scams.
This week, a local resident received a call saying they had been selected to receive a grant in the amount of $6,700. The caller knew the person’s name, mailing address, and email address. They asked for the victim’s bank account information so the money could be deposited. They also gave them the option of picking up the money at the Wal-Mart in Smithfield.
The caller attempted to sound legitimate by giving a grant identification number. When the victim declined to give her bank account information and instead said they wanted the money sent to the Smithfield Wal-Mart the call quickly ended.
In a second scam, a caller claimed to be with Microsoft and says there has been illegal activity on their computer. They proceeded to give the victim their full name, home address, computer IP address, and even the brand of computer they owned. Authorities believe the caller was either trying to get remote access to the victim’s computer or wanted money to fix the so-called “illegal activity.”
