CLAYTON – An online scam cost a retired Johnston County woman $22,000. The victim was using her computer recently when she received an email pretending to be from Microsoft.
The email claimed her personal computer had been hacked and to contact them. After contacting the scammer, they stated it would cost $22,000 to make security upgrades, which would also prevent ongoing misuse of her personal information on the internet.
The victim did not realize it was a scam. She withdrew $22,000 from the bank and sent it to the fraudster.
The 69 year-old victim reported the incident to law enforcement. So far, her money has not been recovered.
These people shouldn’t allowed online.
$22,000 for security upgrades, or go buy a new PC for $700. Hrmmmm.
Anytime you get this message, shut down and restart your PC.
Now I’m convinced….there is definitely something weird in the water or the air here in JoCo! Too many people keep falling for scams and throwing their money down the toilet. Every time! If you have parents or grandparents, please check on them. The criminal scammers will NOT stop until EVERYBODY STOPS FALLING FOR THEIR SCAMS! Wake up people.
The only way I can see Cyber Criminals to be stopped with FRAUD/SCAMs is Executing the Perpetrators when caught. Cyber Crime has become a multi-trillion USD industry.
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime is predicted to cost the world $9.5 trillion annually in 2024. This breaks down to:
1.$793 billion USD a month
2.$182.5 billion USD a week
3.$26 billion USD a day
4.$1 billion USD an hour
5.$18 million USD a minute
6.$302,000 USD a second