A senior from a small Ontario town is out hundreds of thousands of dollars after being the victim of a pop-up computer scam, according to provincial police.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say the victim hails from Perth East, Ont., which is about a 45-drive minute drive northwest of Kitchener.
The scam began when the victim noticed a pop-up on their computer warning that they were the victim of a computer security breach and should call a phone number, police say.
The man then called the number and gave a person who answered remote access to their computer.
The scammer, who claimed to be working for Microsoft, told the victim that his finances had been compromised, police say.
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The scammer then told their victim to withdraw $80,000 from their bank account and to also purchase $240,000 worth of 100 gram gold bars from an online company.
The gold soon arrived at the victim’s house, and the bandits then visited the man five times over the next two weeks to claim the cash and gold, according to OPP.
Police say the man only realized he had been victimized after the money and gold had gone missing.
They say the victim is one of several people in the area who have contacted police after uncovering similar scams.
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“We have heard from a number of people about these pop ups on their computers, mostly the same type, I believe, claiming a security breach,” Sgt. Jillian Johnson told Global News in an email.
Perth County OPP is warning residents “to stay alert and educated to reduce the risk of being a victim of fraud. If you receive an unsolicited phone call or message, asking for personal information (name, birthday, address, phone number, bank information, SIN number) or payment via gift cards for a product, do not provide the information and hang-up the phone and block the phone number.”
They note that legitimate organizations will not be asking for people to pay with gift cards.
Police also warn residents that signs of scammers could include emails, text messages or phone calls sent at odd times of the night, creating a false sense of urgency, contain spelling errors, lack of punctuation or capitals in sentences, that appear to b automated messages, contain random links or attachments, or are sent from businesses with generic company names.
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