Tech Support Scam: How One Phone Call Led to a $30,000 Loss
A real example of a scam I’ve seen involved an older family friend who received a phone call from someone claiming there was a serious issue with her computer. The caller posed as a technical support representative and warned that her system had been compromised, creating a sense of urgency and fear. They instructed her that the issue needed to be fixed immediately and that it would require a large payment. Specifically, they told her to go to her bank, withdraw money, and use it to resolve the problem. The purpose of this scam was straightforward: to manipulate the victim into voluntarily handing over money. The scammer relied heavily on authority, pretending to be tech support, and urgency, claiming her computer was at risk, to pressure her into acting quickly without thinking critically. Even when bank tellers warned her that withdrawing such a large amount of money seemed suspicious, the…