JONESBORO, Ark. – A Jonesboro resident was defrauded out of thousands of dollars this week after being tricked by perpetrators posing as Microsoft’s customer support.
On September 11, the victim reported to local law enforcement that while attempting to apply for a job online, a warning pop-up appeared, alerting her to a potential virus on her device. This message prompted her to call a number provided, under the guise of Microsoft technical support.
Once in contact, she was falsely informed she had made a transaction with an illegal website. Further misleading instructions led her to another phone line, where she believed she was communicating with her bank. The fraudulent representative directed her to withdraw $3,400.
The scammer then persuaded the woman to download the Anydesk application, supposedly to accept assistance from “Microsoft Security.” She was then instructed to utilize the Bitcoin Depot and Cryptobase ATM apps, ultimately depositing the withdrawn funds at a designated Exxon location in Jonesboro.
After the deposit, her computer screen turned blue, displaying a fake software update notification. She was then told not to contact anyone for the next 48 hours.
Authorities have currently deemed the case inactive due to a lack of leads, suspecting the culprits might not even be local to the region.
Seen this numerous times on my computer as recently as yesterday, CNTRL + ATL + DELETE at the same time to clear and restart computer.