Byron Woman Scammed Out of Nearly $17,000

Byron, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Bryon woman is out nearly $17,000 after falling victim to a recent scam. 

Olmsted County Sheriff’s Captain Tim Parkin said Friday morning the woman reported the scam on Monday. She said it began with a pop-up on her iPad appearing to be from Microsoft Support that indicated her computer had been compromised. 

The 66-year-old victim allowed the scammer to remote into her device. The scammer then connected her with a different person posing as a representative from Think Bank. 

The fake bank employee instructed the woman to withdraw $18,000 from her account, convert it to bitcoin then send the crypto currency through a QR code provided by the scammer. Parkin said the woman withdrew $16,900, converted it to bitcoin and sent it via the QR code. 

Parkin said the pricey scam is the latest example of scammers becoming more sophisticated and researching local institutions in their target’s communities. He says it’s difficult for scam victims to recover their money once it has been converted to cryptocurrency. 

Parkin said scam victims can contact the Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311. He says the hotline assigns victims a case measure that will navigate them through the next steps in the effort to recoup their losses.