LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Another person fell victim to a multi-thousand dollar scam in Lincoln on Thursday.
Lincoln Police were called to a home in southeast Lincoln on report of a fraud. A 73-year-old victim reported losing $29,000 in a computer scam.
The victim said a pop-up appeared on her computer, and it said the computer wasn’t working right. She called the number on the pop-up, thinking she was talking to a Geek Squad employee.
The “employee” was granted remote access to her computer, and he told the victim that he’d accidentally sent her $25,000 for fixing the computer.
The scammer instructed her to pull cash from her bank and put it into a Bitcoin ATM. The victim withdrew a total of $29,000 and deposited in the Bitcoin ATM.
Once she realized it was a scam, the victim contacted Bitcoin customer service who said that the transaction was irreversible.
Lincoln Police said on Friday that fraud cases involving scams have been on the rise, and many scammers are targeting the elderly.
“We would like to remind everyone to always verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a family member or from a financial or legal institution. Also, we encourage you to have conversations with your loved ones about these types of scams so they can help you recognize a scam if someone you don’t know reaches out requesting money. When in doubt, just hang up,” Lincoln Police wrote.
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