A resident was about to get scammed out of nearly $3 million when police showed up - CP24
Toronto police disrupted a scammer on Thursday who was trying to steal nearly $3 million from an unsuspecting victim by posing as a telecom company representative.
Police said a suspect contacted the victim and identified himself as a representative of a major telecoms company. He claimed the company was improving services in the area and had to access the victim’s computer to check internet speed.
The victim was told to install UltraViewer, an application that allows someone to access and control a computer remotely. Shortly after, the suspect informed the victim that the computer had viruses and other problems, which he offered to remove.
The suspect then instructed the victim to access online banking, supposedly to check that no money had been withdrawn without authorization.
That is when officers arrived. Police said they found the victim on a video call with the suspect, who was in the process of accessing online banking.
Officers immediately explained that the call was a scam and directed the victim not to transfer money or authorize any transactions.
The suspects disconnected the video call when officers attempted to speak with them. Police said the victim almost lost $2.9 million.
You do not need to be certain a call is fraudulent before ending it. Pause and verify before giving anyone access to your computer or your money.
They reminded the public not to install remote-access software at the direction of an unexpected caller and never access online banking while someone you do not trust has remote access.
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