Rochester Man Thwarts Sophisticated Cyber Scam

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Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - The Rochester Police Dept. is spreading the word about what is being called a fairly sophisticated cyber scam.

A 59-year-old man reported the scam Wednesday to RPD.

Capt. Casey Moilanen says the man received an email from Best Buy’s Geek Squad indicating his antivirus program was out of date. Moilanen says the man had ironically just recently renewed the program and decided to call the number included in the email.

The man was told to allow technicians to take control of his computer so “they could install the upgrade” and to give them his bank account number so they could deposit a $200 rebate.

The man checked his account and noticed a $20,000 deposit had been made. The person the man was talking to told him to wire the extra money which had been accidentally deposited into his account. That’s when the man discovered the money to make the deposit had actually come from some of his other accounts.

The man hung up and called his bank and police.

The man told police he didn’t lose any money in the scam but had to buy a new computer because the would-be thieves had left his other one inoperable.

News update: Olmsted County deputies involved in a confrontation with teens at the county fair.