Last month a fake "tech support" call cost my neighbor $2,800

My neighbor Jerry got a call saying his computer had a virus. They walked him through logging into his bank to "verify" his account. By the time he realized it was a scam, they had drained his savings. I told him next time hang up and call the number on his bank card, not the one they give you. Has anyone else had family almost fall for this?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabeth_gonzalez4d agoMost Upvoted

Got a similar call myself last year, and I almost fell for it until I realized I didn't even own the computer they were talking about. I was ready to hand over my passwords and everything, just glad I stopped myself before looking like a complete idiot. Jerry's story makes me feel a little better about my close call, but man it's scary how convincing they can be. Now I just tell everyone the same thing you told him - hang up and call your bank direct.

brookepark4d ago

That close call you had is wild but I'm glad you caught yourself before it went any further. It reminds me of this time my buddy Dave got a call from "Apple Support" about his iCloud being hacked, and he spent twenty minutes on the phone before they asked him to buy gift cards as payment. He actually drove to the store and bought $300 in iTunes cards before his wife asked him what he was doing. Now he leaves his phone on the counter whenever a weird number pops up.