FBI: Pop-up scam cheats victims out of US$347mil last year

Pop-up warnings like those experienced by the Maine couple noted in the FBI report are a common gateway into the scam. For those less technologically savvy, the Internet pop-up may appear to be a legitimate warning from their computer or maybe even their legitimate antivirus software. — Unsplash

It’s happened to an increasingly large number of people: They’re clicking away on some less-reputable website when a pop-up advises them that their computer has been breached and their financial information exposed, but there’s one way to save the day.

For a couple in Maine last year, that way was to call someone who claimed to be with Fidelity Investments. This false representative told the couple, according to an FBI report, to download the UltraViewer software on their computer to monitor for fraud. That done, the rep told the couple to transfer some of their retirement funds and take out a home equity line of credit and wire it all to a cryptocurrency marketplace for “safekeeping”.