LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — An Acadiana resident was the latest victim in a computer tech support turned cryptocurrency scam. He lost thousands of dollars when sending Bitcoin to the scammer. Now, he wants to warn others. 

This local resident wanted to remain anonymous, and he said, “We went with the $12,000 in cash and then deposited it into the machine.”

News Ten’s Sylvia Masters asked, “And that was a Bitcoin machine?”

“Yes. A Bitcoin machine,” he replied.

$12,000, gone. It was sent through Bitcoin to the scammer.

“I asked this guy to help me fix my computer and at the time he was helping me fix it, he put the call through somebody else and that was when I was asked about the money… told me that somebody from China was trying to take $12,000 out of my account and it went on from there,” said the victim.

It started out as a pop-up warning on this consumer’s computer that he needed to call a technician because there was a virus on his computer. That’s what he was told. Alarmed, he called the number provided for assistance, thinking it was Microsoft. It turned out to be a scammer on the other end of the phone saying his computer was hacked and his bank account compromised. He was then instructed to withdraw his bank account funds in the amount of $12,000 to secure it from the scammer.

“I was thinking I was doing something right,” explained the victim. “We didn’t know it was a scam.”

When that money was withdrawn from his bank, the victim was instructed to deposit the funds into a local Bitcoin machine to be held securely until his computer issues could be resolved.

“I’m still in shock because that has never happened to me before and I hope that maybe one day I might see it again, but I doubt it,” he added.

The Better Business Bureau of Acadiana says consumer reports of computer tech support scams have risen in recent years. Virtually anyone who owns or uses a computer is a potential threat.

Chris Babin, with the Better Business Bureau of Acadiana, said, “We talk about individual scams and this one basically just wrapped a couple of those together with tech support and cryptocurrency. That’s an unregulated industry that people are very vulnerable in.”

Here are some tips from the BBB on how to avoid these types of scams:

Never give control of you computer to a third party unless you can confirm that it’s a legitimate computer support team you’re already a customer with.

Check your account activity at least weekly for fraud.

Guard your wallet. If you buy cryptocurrency, the security of the wallet is of prime importance.

Don’t pay for products with cryptocurrency. No one with the government will ever ask for this form of payment.

Beware of fake recovery companies. Scam companies can claim that they can recover stolen money for a fee.

If you have a scam you’d like me to investigate, feel free to contact me at smasters@klfy.com.

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