Provincial police are asking people to “be on guard” against scammers after an older woman had a fraudulent message on her computer.
On Sept. 12, an 84-year-old in the Marmora and Lake Township near Madoc, Ont., had a pop-up alert on her computer. As a result, all her computer functions were locked, police noted in a press release.
According to officers, the pop-up message included a voice that said to the woman her computer was compromised and to not turn it off.
“The on-screen message included an official-looking Microsoft logo and a ‘tech support’ phone number,” police said.
The woman proceeded to call the number and a “technician” kept her on the phone for hours. During this time, the scammer directed the victim to log into her online banking and asked her to walk away from the device “as the work would take some additional time.”
When she hung up, she discovered the money had been removed from her bank accounts. This was when she contacted police.
“It’s believed that other seniors in the Marmora and Lake area have been targeted by the same fraud tactics,” the release reads.
Officials are warning members of the public to shut down their computers and contact a reputable business that specializes in computers if they see a similar message.