Rochester couple scammed out of $3,000

Emily Cutts, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·1 min read

Nov. 29—A Rochester couple was scammed out of $3,000 after falling for an anti-virus email scam.

Rochester police learned of the scam on Saturday — two days after the couple spent hundreds of dollars on Target gift cards.

The couple told officers they received an email they believed was from McAfee AntiVirus stating that they needed to renew their antivirus software. The email contained a phone number for the couple to call to renew the software.

The couple called the number and spoke with someone who told them hackers were able to get into their computer and in order to stop them, the couple needed to buy a $500 Target gift card. The couple purchased a gift card and read the numbers off the back to the person they believed worked for the antivirus software company.

They were then instructed to download some software. Once they did that, they were told there were hacks coming in from all over the world and that the couple would need to buy another Target gift card.

A total of $3,000 was spent on gift cards before the couple realized they had been scammed, according to Rochester police Capt. Casey Moilanen.

Moilanen cautioned all that if someone tells you to get a gift card to use as a payment, it is likely a scam.