Tech support scams one of top causes for fraud loss in seniors

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

An elderly Jefferson City man was exploited out of more than $40,000 this month as part of a tech-support scheme, and police want to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else.

Two Texas men were charged this week with the financial exploitation of an elderly person after they were accused of collecting thousands of dollars from a 78-year-old Jefferson City man.

Brandon Martin and Tarus Prince were arrested Wednesday after showing up to a Jefferson City man's home to collect thousands of dollars as part of an alleged tech-support scam.

Both men were scheduled to make their first appearance at Cole County Court on Friday. Martin pleaded not guilty and has a bond hearing scheduled for Jan. 26. ABC 17 News has reached out to learn the outcome of Prince's hearing. They are each being held at the Cole County Jail on $50,000 bonds.

The victim was scammed out of more than $40,000 during the course of a few days after a pop-up showed up on his computer. Court documents state the pop-up stated he'd downloaded a virus and prompted him to call a fake tech support number.

While this is an open investigation, Jefferson City Police Lt. David Williams said people should contact their family members if something they see doesn't feel right.

"Trust your family more than you do outsiders," Williams said. "If something pops up on your screen and tells you that you've suddenly done something that's going to cost you thousands of dollars to repair, that would be a time when I would bring in a family member."

The Federal Trade Commission reports tech support scams were the third-most reported type of fraud victims 70 years old and older experience. Of those scams, 13% of the time, communication was started via an online ad or pop-up.

However, Williams said exploitation scams can happen to people of any age.

In this case, court documents say the man was asked to make withdrawals from his bank in the amounts of $16,400, $24,500 and $10,000. Williams said one red flag should be how much it's supposedly costing to repair the device.

"If it gets to the point where you have a $500 laptop and they want $5,000 to fix a pop-up problem, that should be an indicator that something's probably not right," Williams said.

The scammer also asked the victim to stay on the phone while withdrawing the money, which Williams said is a common theme. He said people should hang up, think through the situation and call a family member, advising people to tell the caller they're busy or citing Missouri's new Siddens Bening Hands Free Law.

He said if the organization on the other end of the phone is real, they will give a number to call them back. In this case, the fake tech support workers set up a money exchange at the victim's home. Men would come to his house, share a password and the victim would hand over the money.

"Sometimes there is a specific 'What's your favorite color?' or 'What's your nickname for your youngest grandkid?' or 'What's your dog's name?' It's something that they've been able to get from the person on the phone to give them a safety mindset," Williams said.

He said while it doesn't happen very often, these face-to-face exchanges aren't new. Sometimes it can happen at someone's home, but they can also happen in public places like the post office.