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Mounties in the BC Interior are warning people to be careful with ongoing computer scams.
Recently, the RCMP detachment in Trail received a report from a 71-year-old woman who claimed she had been defrauded $6,000.
According to a news release, the woman was prompted with a message on her computer that claimed to be from a legitimate computer company and told her to call a 1-800 number to speak with a “technician.”
Police were told that the “technician” told the woman her computer had been used to commit online computer crimes and convinced her to give the scammer remote access to her device.
Once he had access, he further convinced the woman to provide her banking information and transferred $6,000 into a crypto-currency digital wallet.
The woman then realized she had been defrauded and contacted her bank to report the incident.
She also bought and installed an anti-virus software for her computer.
Unfortunately, the $6,000 could not be recovered.
“Never allow anyone remote access to your computer or download anything that they send to you,” says Sgt. Wicentowich.
“You will benefit from a good antivirus program on your computer as it will help you detect malicious software downloads and suspicious computer pop ups. If you own a computer, phone, or tablet, it is worth the investment.”