Manatee County woman scammed out of more than $27K after fake security alert about child porn
The Manatee County Sheriff's Office is warning the public to beware of an alarming tech support scam that cost an 88-year-old woman to lose thousands of dollars, beginning with a security alert on a computer about child porn.
On Wednesday, deputies were notified about a scam involving the elderly Manatee County woman. It started with a message on the victim's computer appearing to be from Apple support that named a threat to her Mac's security.
"She's being told that she purchased child porn, and she knows she didn't do this," said Randy Warren, a spokesperson with MCSO.
Investigators said she called the number listed on the message, which went to scammers instead of tech support. They told the victim federal authorities were investigating her and her financial data was at risk.
"Then she's being pulled into well this is going to be released, and you'll be humiliated. There may even be criminal charges," said Warren about the scam.
Deputies said the scammers played into the fear and urgency created behind the message, causing the victims to pay the scammers off.
"Several days go by, and she's moving money, opening up some bank accounts, putting in money and wiring back and forth," said Warren.
Investigators said the victim came out of a gated community on Lockwood Ridge Road to meet the scammers two different times with envelopes of money, resulting in her losing more than $27,000.
"The scam was successful. As long as they're successful, bad guys are going to continue to do it. It was not a small payday for them by any means," said Brian Jack, the chief information security officer at KnowBe4, a cybersecurity firm based in Clearwater. "All of those things are it's very unsettling and frightening for someone who thinks it's real."
Jack said the elderly are more susceptible to scams, but anyone can fall for one online.
"When you browse a website, you might be hitting 15 to 20 or 30 different sites behind the scenes. It only takes one of those sites to be compromised or infected with malware to have pop up start happening on your computer," said Jack. "Make sure that you have a good antivirus, that your patches are up-to-date, your security updates are in place. If your browser has the little icon at the top that says you need to restart the browser or update it, do that."
Since the victim met the scammers in person, deputies said that will help their investigation.
"We also look for things locally, and right now we're following some leads. We want to know who the people were who came to the entrance of her gated community," said Warren.
Experts also suggest talking with family members if something seems off and don't give your information to anyone unknown or allow them remote access to your devices.
If you do become a victim, call law enforcement, change your passwords and notify your bank or credit card company.
