MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio
Fraud: Newton Road
An officer spoke with a woman April 22 about fraudulent activity on her bank account. She said on April 15 she reviewed her emails and noticed one that was a $2,698.99 purchase for two cell phones on Amazon. The phones’ delivery was set for a Delaware address. She did not order the phones. She called the fraud protection team phone number listed in the email. She later found the number was not associated with Amazon. A woman told her she needed to connect her with someone in the fraud department to refund her money. The woman also explained she was from Thailand but now living in California. The officer asked if the woman had an accent. The caller said the woman had one who may be associated with Africa. She then spoke with a man who had an Indian accent. He said she had to go online and access her banking information to receive the refund. She told him she did not do online banking. He said that needed to happen if she wanted to get a refund. She did call her credit union and kept him on the line due to his instructions to do so. Once the online banking was established, the woman said the man made a black screen appear on her computer. She said he somehow gained remote access to her computer and was controlling everything from his end. She said she did not go to any website or click links. She was baffled as to how he gained control. Meanwhile, she told the officer while the screen was black, he told her to enter her name. He…
