‘Incredibly convincing’: Family loses life savings after computer virus alert

This has likely happened to you while on the computer. You’re surfing the internet and get an alert that your computer has been compromised.

A Toronto woman whose mother, unfortunately, got a computer virus is speaking out to share her hard-earned lesson.

“My mom panicked, and so did I,” said the woman, who asked only to be identified as “Linda”. “Our computer was locked, and the screen told us to call a number for what we thought was Microsoft.”

That’s when things got strange, but now, in hindsight, Linda says it’s crystal clear.

“This was a very organized effort to get money from us, and it worked.”

When she called the number on the alert, a woman, who again said she was with Microsoft, asked her a series of questions about the computer.

“She was incredibly knowledgeable and did try to walk us through ways to get it fixed, I’m sure, just to gain some type of trust.”

Linda was told that her computer was likely hacked by someone overseas, and the woman said that her bank accounts could also be compromised.

“So, she asked me for the phone numbers for our banks, which I gave her. She said she would contact the banks, and someone would get back to me.”

And they did. A man, who claimed to be from the bank, called Linda right back.

“He was incredibly convincing and even shared an ID badge showing he was a bank representative.”

Bank account was drained

He told Linda he would have to do a series of “test” transactions to see if the accounts were accessed by anyone other than them. Those transactions involved her sending e-transfers.

You can probably guess what happened next.

“After these series of transactions, our accounts were drained. We called this man, and he said, ‘Don’t worry, that’s part of the process, and the money will be returned.'”

It wasn’t.

A Toronto woman whose mother got a computer virus is speaking out to share her hard-earned lesson. Photo: Unsplash.

“We then went to our bank branch, showed an employee the ID the man gave us, and they said, ‘That is fake.'”

Because Linda authorized the transactions, the bank can do little to help.

The family has lost a total of more than $27,000.

“This was a very organized effort to get money from us and it worked.”

“This is a social engineering attack,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering with Check Point Software Technologies Inc.

“Many of these attacks rely on you being emotional, acting out of distress, and making the wrong choice.”

For instance, being locked out of your computer and desperate to get back in. The pop-up computer scam, which involves an alert like Linda received, has been around for years, although Falzon says it’s not as common as in the past.

He says if you get one don’t panic and don’t immediately call the number given.

“If the pop-up says it’s from Microsoft support, go ahead and Google Microsoft support on your cell phone if the computer you have isn’t working,” he said. “Seek out the information yourself from the source before making any call.”

Looking back at it, Linda is deeply embarrassed she fell for this.

“I am quite diligent about protecting my accounts,” she said. “I know people will be looking at this, thinking, ‘How can she fall for this, like come on.’ But I was in a state of panic, and these people were very good, making you believe they are who they say they are.”

Falzon gets it and says Linda is far from being alone.

“I never judge anyone who is a scam victim. I know people who’ve become victims,” he said. “These hackers are much more sophisticated than they were two years ago. For instance, they’re better at spelling and grammar now and using advanced tools to accelerate these attacks, so more and more people continue to fall victim to them.”

Which means more work for them, Falzon said.

“I think the first thing in a case like this is if you’ve received any unsolicited support call, email, or pop-up on your computer, ignore it. It’s fake. That is just the bottom line.”

Linda has been working with the Toronto Police Service, which is investigating, but she’s also been doing her own detective work as well.

“We’ve been able to determine this man, who falsely said he was with the bank, is operating out of the U.S.,” she said.

Police are looking into that claim.

As she waits for justice, she hopes her story stops this from happening to anyone else.

“That’s the only reason I agreed to speak,” she said. “If this can prevent one more person or family from becoming the next victim, I’ll get some satisfaction because this has left my family near ruin.”

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