Federal investigators are accusing two men of running a massive IT support fraud operation between March 2015 and December 2018. The scam targeted over 7,500 victims, most if them elderly people, who lost a total of $10 million to the criminals.
The scam involved a pop-up window giving users a fake warning about the presence of a virus on their computer. Victims were urged to call a number, which would bring them in contact with one of the scammers. The crooks would persuade victims to help them take control over the victim’s computer, after which they would pretend to get rid of malware and solve other nonexistent issues. Victims would be charged hundreds or even thousands of dollars for the fake service.
Read more: Massive IT Support Fraud ‘Made $10 Million From Thousands Of Elderly Victims’