There have been recent reports of a computer virus scam in Mercer County. 

While navigating on the computer, the victim will receive a pop-up. The pop-up will say they have a virus and will provide a 1-800 number to call immediately. Victims who do call are in for an emotional roller coaster, while the scammer works to obtain all your money. 

Scammers hope to be successful, creating fear and urgency. The fear they create in these current attempts are telling the victim they have caught them utilizing adult and illegal websites. The panic and embarrassment of being told this, while completely false, turns the victim into a panic to make it all go away.

The scammer then instructs the victim to head to their bank and pull out nearly all their money. Reports have said over $20,000 is being requested by the scammers for the victim to take out in cash. 

While making the withdrawal, the scammer instructs the victim to leave the call active and on speakerphone. Allowing the scammer to listen to the bank transaction completely.

Once the cash was in hand, the victim would need to meet up with an unspecified person at that time and place the cash in a money bag. 

Multiple reports have occurred with this same type of tactic to obtain large amounts of cash. As well as the call lasting well over four hours in length. Another tactic by scammers to wear victims down so they eventually give in.

Victims: Being swayed by a scammer is not your fault and does not make you unintelligent if you fall victim. While victims often feel embarrassed, they shouldn’t. If scam attempts and experiences were more often freely shared by victims, we would be able to have a knowledgeable support system to fall back on.
Being open to sharing your experience may help someone else. 

Disclaimer: NEVER click on any pop-ups on your phone or computer. NEVER trust someone who is asking for money (cash, gift cards or account information) to solve a problem. Never trust pop-ups on your computer or phone and THINK before you click.