Birmingham Woman Nearly Scammed Out Of $30K

BIRMINGHAM, MI — Some heads-up police work saved an 87-year-old Birmingham woman $30,000. She was nearly swindled out of the money after falling prey to a “computer virus” scam pulled on her by a California man. An alleged repair person called her in February to report that she had a virus on her computer, but that he could fix it.

The man sent her a bill for $30,000 after he gained access to her computer and “fixed” the problem. The 87-year-woman paid the bill, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press. The resident was targeted in a popular scam that actually runs out of India, Birmingham Police Chief Mark Clemence told the newspaper.

The woman's daughter quickly contacted police after learning what had happened. Birmingham detectives were able to obtain a search warrant and track the computer repair man’s phone number to a location in California, the Free Press reported. The case was then turned over to the FBI Financial Crimes Task Force, which specializes in online fraud.

A Birmingham police officer assigned to the task force was able to track down the California man and eventually got the money returned. "The person in California was the contact for the India connection," Clemence told the Free Press. "He wouldn't admit to committing a crime, but he did agree to full restitution."

Clemence told the newspaper the case is a good example of the value in joining multi-jurisdictional task force agreements. "If we didn't assign an officer to the task force, I doubt we would have resolved this case," he said. "These people prey on a very vulnerable part of our community — especially when it comes to these Internet crimes."

Photo by Don Hankins via Flickr Commons