Near miss: Scammers take control of woman’s computer, gain access to her banking in elaborate hoax.
Updated: Apr 10
A Stephenville woman is still shaking after falling for an elaborate scam that could have cost her thousands.
She isn’t sharing her name, but she is sharing her story as a warning to others.
The woman, who is in her 70s, told Beneath the Surface News that the incident began Tuesday morning when she received an email for what appeared to be a receipt for $399.99.
The receipt included logos from Norton by Symantec and LifeLock for an antivirus program for her computer.
“I didn’t remember ordering an antivirus program, so I called the number on the receipt,” she said. “The man who answered the phone had a thick accent and told me that (the company) gave me a free year and deducted the $399 from my account to keep the program going.”
She said he was cordial when she told him she wanted the charge reversed and the money put back into her checking account.
That’s when things took a frightening turn.
While they were on the phone, the man gave her instructions on how to remove the “program” from her computer, but unbeknownst to her, she was really giving him access to take control of it.
After accessing her settings and doing what she was told, he asked her to log into her banking to ensure the money had been replaced.
“Then all of a sudden, our banking account was on the computer screen. I had let them into our accounts!” she said. “I couldn’t use my mouse. The screen went dark and I watched him move $20,000 from our savings account into our checking.
“I said ‘What are you doing? You can’t do that!’”
She immediately hung up, called the bank and told them what was happening.
The bank froze the accounts and has since closed them completely.
Then she filed a police report and took her computer to a repair shop for a “cleanout.”
“I credit the bank,” she said. “They knew us and when they realized what was going on they jumped in to help.”
The good news is that the scammers weren’t able to get their hands on her money, but the near-miss has left her rattled.
Now she is warning others, especially the elderly who might be more likely to fall for similar scams.
“I can’t believe it happened; I can’t believe I gave them access to my computer,” she said. “I’m thankful because it could have been so much worse.”
