A phishing email scam recently cost a rural Clinton woman $10,000. Her loss is yet another demonstration of how persuasive these fake emails can be, and the kind of pressure those behind the emails bring to bear on victims to accomplish their frauds. The most recent victim of these phishing emails is a senior citizen, let’s call her Mrs. H.
Mrs. H. received an email from the Geek Squad. A lot of folks might recognize the term Geek Squad, and recognize it as a support arm of the consumer electronics retailer, Best Buy. Mrs. H.’s email informed her, Geek Squad just renewed her membership, to the tune of $429.79, and helpfully included a toll-free phone number to call for “any administration or conditional issue?” The email alarmed Mrs. H. She didn’t know anything about this membership. She called that help number.
The technician she reached agreed to refund the money, but he needed access to Mrs. H’s computer, and to reach her online banking. The technician instructed her how to allow him access to the computer, and showed her how to set up a transaction to deposit funds to her bank account. But something went wrong. After the transaction, the technician showed Mrs. H., she deposited $14,297. He demanded the money back. He verbally started turning on the screw on her, making demands, threats, and…
