ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A local senior woman has been scammed out of $33,000 after falling victim to a pop-up scam on her computer. It’s a nearly untraceable crime that impacts too many.
Rochester Police Department (RPD) says while they aren’t necessarily seeing more online scams, the amount of money scammers are seeking is increasing.
“It’s a really unfortunate situation. $33,000 is a lot of money, especially for the elderly who are maybe on a fixed income and that might be the retirement saving,” RPD Capt. Casey Molianen said.
Many scammers will ask victims to purchase gift cards or bitcoin and send the money that way.
“It’s something that they can use right away, and it’s just very much undetectable,” Capt. Molianen said.
But the money and the scammer are virtually untraceable.
“It’s very difficult and almost impossible in these situations,” Capt. Molianen said.
RPD says a lot of the time, scammers will go after vulnerable people such as seniors who didn’t grow up in the technology age.
“A lot of them really don’t know what’s real and what’s not real, what’s a scam and what’s not a scam. So unfortunately, a lot of elderly are a target in these cases,” Capt. Molianen said.
Thankfully, there are a number of resources to support and educate our seniors like the tech mates at 125 Live in Rochester.
“They take their expertise and time and donate it to helping others learn, so maybe it’s a questions about technology or how to use your…
