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The FBI’s Boston Division has issued a warning about a surge in tech support fraud cases across the country and here in Massachusetts.
scammers pose as customers or tech support representatives of well-known and reputable technology companies. You can call, email, or text her message to the target to solve the problem. These problems range from email and bank account compromises to computer viruses and software license updates.
New Englanders in four provinces have been hit with this type of scam. According to the FBI:
His 521 people in Massachusetts were swindled out of more than $5.3 million of him. In New Hampshire he lost more than $560,000 of his $560,000 by 117 people. Sixty-five Rhode Islanders were scammed out of her $915,000. In Maine 106 people were scammed out of her $673,000 or more.
Once the scammers convince people that their financial accounts have been compromised and they need to transfer the funds to me, they take control of the victim’s computer and ultimately their financial and personal information. The FBI says 23,903 people nationwide lost more than $347 million to tech support scams in 2021.
This means that from a year ago his losses increased by 137%. Nearly 60% of casualties nationwide were reportedly over the age of 60, accounting for 68% of casualties. Older Americans are less likely to report fraud, so reported losses are likely to be much higher.