MESA, Ariz. - Call 12 For Action has a warning about a scam that’s been circulating for years, but is still ripping people off.
It’s called the Microsoft Tech scam. And one of it’s victims is an elderly Mesa woman, Bonnie Reno.
“I got the phone call from Microsoft that said I had been hacked and they wanted to get into my computer and take care of it for me,” Reno told 12 News about the incident which happened in December of 2016.
She was paying for Microsoft's technical support, so she thought the call was truly from Microsoft. But it wasn't.
Instead, it was a scammer. The man had a thick Middle Eastern accent and promised to fix the hack that never happened in the first place. The next day he called back and said Reno’s computer had been hacked yet again. But this time, it would cost thousands of dollars to fix.
“He had a gift of gab and he was calling me grandma...well let's do this and let's do that. We'll take care of it,” Reno said the scammer told her. “They have a plan and they're smooth talkers.”
That plan was specific -- for Reno to go to Desert Schools Federal Credit Union, where she banked, on three different days. She was told to make three withdrawals -- for $2,400, $3,000 and $5,000. Then the scammer instructed her to go to Walmart and make three separate wire transfers to Morocco – all of which Reno did.
“I should have been wiser, but I wasn't,” Reno said. “I just, go along fat, dumb and happy and think everything is OK.”
“He had a gift of gab and he was calling me grandma...well let's do this and let's do that. We'll take care of it,” Reno said the scammer told her. “They have a plan and they're smooth talkers.”
That plan was specific -- for Reno to go to Desert Schools Federal Credit Union, where she banked, on three different days. She was told to make three withdrawals -- for $2,400, $3,000 and $5,000. Then the scammer instructed her to go to Walmart and make three separate wire transfers to Morocco – all of which Reno did.
“I should have been wiser, but I wasn't,” Reno said. “I just, go along fat, dumb and happy and think everything is OK.”
Read more here.
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