The Lexington Police Financial Crimes Unit detectives are warning citizens about a telephone scam, which they have received complaints about during the past two weeks.
The scam, which is trending nationwide, involves a suspect(s) pretending to represent a computer manufacturer or anti-virus software company. The scammer will request that the potential victim visit a website from their personal computer and then download and install a file into the computer’s registry. The downloaded file is the key to the scam. It is embedded with a “Trojan virus”, which enters the system and steals private information and passwords stored on the computer. All of this is done in the “background” so the victim has no idea the virus is working. This virus is especially harmful for people who utilize mobile banking, as the scam artist may begin transferring money from bank accounts without the account holder’s knowledge.
http://liarcatchers.com/fraud_investigation.html
Detectives recommend you never give someone access to your computer remotely, or download unknown or suspicious software.
If you have been targeted by this scam, or are contacted by the scammer in the future, please call the Lexington Division of Police at 859-258-3700. We also encourage victims to call your financial institutions to ensure no fraudulent activity has occurred on your accounts.
