Rochester woman out $20K in scam

(ABC 6 News) – A 65-year-old Rochester woman is out $20,000 in a reported scam.

The Rochester Police Department (RPD) said the scam happened on Apr. 4. RPD said the woman logged into her computer that morning and noticed what appeared to be a Microsoft notification pop-up on her screen advising her to call Microsoft support.

RPD said the woman called the phone number provided and spoke with a woman who said there was suspicious activity on her computer and that her IP address had been compromised. She was then provided another phone number and advised to contact the Federal Trade Commission.

She called the number provided and the person on the other end of the phone told her that her financial accounts had been compromised, and that a person in Texas was using her IP address to view child pornography and solicit in illegal gambling. The woman was told she was involved in an international money laundering scheme and that her money needed to be protected and that the Federal Trade Commission was going to open up a case.

The scammer advised her to wire $20,000, but the woman declined and instead said she would keep the money at her home. The scammer said if she did that, the police would come and arrest her claiming she would be labeled a suspect in the money laundering scheme.

RPD said the woman withdrew $20,000 from her bank account and mailed it via UPS to an address in Florida that the scammer provided.

A person claiming to be from the FBI contacted her and said they wanted to stay on the phone with her all night long to monitor activity on the phone. The woman told the person no, and then realized she had been the victim of a scam.

RPD said they are doing everything they can to get the woman’s money back, and that as long as the package hasn’t made it to it’s intended destination, that it’s possible the package could be stopped.