Westfield Woman Told She Was Hacked By '17 Hackers': Police

WESTFIELD, NJ — In the latest incident of internet fraud in Union County, a Westfield resident told police on May 19 that someone contacted her and attempted to convince her to buy gift cards for him. When the victim hesitated, according to police, the scammer told her to download a program on her computer because she was being attacked by "17 hackers."

Police said that the incident began last week with someone contacting the Pinegrove Avenue resident and asking for payment for an item she purchased.

The victim said she didn't purchase anything, and was directed to a "security department."

The person on the phone then told the woman that "her computer had been hacked by 17 hackers and that a program needed to be downloaded in order to remove them," according to police.

The woman was then asked to buy two gift cards, and a $500 gift card at another store.

The woman ended up buying a total of $500 in gift cards, but never gave the information to the caller, police said.

Police have warned area residents not to give strangers personal information over the phone or internet. Officials have said that similar scams have ramped up during the pandemic.

Other recent scams

• Westfield Resident Scammed Out Of $435K After Instagram Post
• Person Posing As "Geek" Scams Westfield Resident
• Summit Resident Falls Victim To "Grandparent Scam"
• Westfield Resident Bilked Out Of $10K In Phone Scam

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