Aug. 31—ROCHESTER — A Rochester man who lost $7,000 to a recent computer scam said the timing of the incident led to his becoming yet another victim to a growing number of online predators.
“He said he knows better than to do this type of thing, but his mind was elsewhere as the situation unfolded,” Rochester Police Capt. Casey Moilanen said Wednesday.
The 71-year-old reported that his computer screen locked up on Aug. 16 with a full screen notice that he was the subject of identity theft. It prompted him to make a phone call.
When he called the number provided, he was told a Visa representative would call him, and that person eventually instructed him to buy gift cards from four different stores — Home Depot, HyVee, Best Buy and JCPenney — in order to preserve his money.
He was instructed to provide the person on the phone with the redemption numbers, which allowed the suspect to use the cards.
Moilanen said any request to purchase gift cards by an unknown person should be considered suspect.
“That’s going to be the biggest red flags these days,” the police captain said, encouraging people to be alert related to online and phone requests.
