Levy County citizen scammed of $50K, trying to protect themself from being scammed
Graphic courtesy of LCSO.
Levy County Sheriff's Office (LCSO)
According to the Levy County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), a Levy County citizen has been scammed out of a significant amount of their life savings as the result of a scam that mimics the plot of a new movie called “The Bee Keeper.”
The citizen received an email - claiming it had been send by “NORTON Antivirus” - a program the citizen uses on their personal computer to protect their electronic data. The email notified the citizen that the software needed an update, which was already in process, and the update fee was $499.99.
Concerned, the citizen called the phone number provided in the email, which was answered by a man wih a Middle Eastern accent. A short time later, during the phone call, the citizen's computer was under the control of an unknown entity, and the citizen's financial data was visible to the scammers. The man who answered the call told the citizen he would credit them with a refund. However, the alleged refund of $499.99 was changed to $49,999.99, and this amount was transferred from the citizen's account into an overseas account. This was a scam, and the scammer was NOT associated with the well-known Norton Antivirus company.
The LCSO cautions citizens to verify all emails, text messages and phone calls by contacting all companies they conduct business with - in-person or by using contact information known to them or found using online searches - NOT by using contact information provided in an unsolicited email.