ROCHESTER — The Rochester Police Department is reminding people to be wary before handing out personal information over the phone or online after two city residents fell prey to separate scams.
A 91-year-old man is out $1,000 after responding to what he thought was an official Microsoft pop-up, but turned out to be a scam. The man was on his computer when he received a pop-up asking for personal information, which the man filled in, according to Rochester police Capt. Casey Moilanen.
A few minutes after completing the form, the man received a call from a person who identified himself as “Tom Griffin,” and said he could fix the nonagenarian’s computer, but needed $1,000 in Target gift cards.
The man went to Target and purchased two $500 gift cards and provided the gift card numbers to the scammer. It was when the person said the man needed to pay an additional $40,000 that the man realized it was a scam.
Moilanen said people should not be entering their personal information on pop-ups and urged individuals to verify that something is legitimate before providing personal information.
In a separate scam, a 36-year-old Rochester woman compromised her personal information after she filled out what she believed was a legitimate application for a house for rent she found on Facebook Marketplace.
The woman found the ad online and was told to fill out an application, which included giving her phone number, birth date, credit card information…
