A resident of Ontario, Canada, lost $35,000 in Bitcoin after scammers pretended to be working for tech giant Microsoft.
Fraud and theft in the crypto space never seem to wane and assume ever more devious forms. According to an August 9 CTV News report, the victim in this case sent the funds to the scammers after downloading and installing a fake firewall program.
Fake Microsoft Employee Demanded Payment in Bitcoin
This latest episode of crypto fraud began when the victim received a pop-up alert that appeared to be from Microsoft. The message said the victim’s computer was in need of an update and provided a phone number to call.
Once on the call, the scammers then told the individual that the computer’s firewall was out of date and required payment to process the update.
Sadly, the victim then purchased and installed the fake software. Then, the following day, another scammer posing as a member of Microsoft’s team requested control of their machine to confirm everything was well.
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Once in charge, the scammer then claimed he had inadvertently sent money to the victim’s account. The fraudster then demanded that the payment be sent back using Bitcoin.
Police said the victim then transferred the fake Microsoft employee approximately $35,000 in Bitcoin (BTC). It is assumed that the scammer walked the victim through the entire process.
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Author: Josh Adams
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