Rochester woman scammed out of nearly $120,000

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A 68-year-old Rochester woman lost nearly $120,000 to an internet scam.

According to the Rochester Police Department, last month a woman was on her computer when a pop up came up on her screen saying there was a virus on her computer. There was a phone number on the pop up that said to call it to fix the problem, but it was instead a scammer.

Police said the woman called the number, which gave the scammer access to her computer and bank account. The scammer said her money was in accounts for Chinese gambling and she would be arrested. To avoid arrest, the scammer said she had to move her money into different accounts.

Over the next week, the woman took out large sums of money and sent it to the scammer.

First, she moved $6,000. A few days later, she took out $27,000.

After that, she wrote out a $55,000 cashier’s check and sent it to an address in Colorado.

Lastly, she transferred $33,000 into a bitcoin machine, which was sent it to the scammer.

In total, the woman lost $118,000 in this scam.

The victim reported the scam to authorities on November 8.

Police said it’s likely she will not be able to get her money back.

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