An 83-year-old St. Thomas man has lost $27,000 in a ransomware scam.
According to St. Thomas police, the elderly resident opened an email with a bad attachment or clicked a bad link that appeared to infect his computer with ransomware. Using the malware, the fraudster was able to freeze the man's computer before posing as an employee with his anti-virus provider to offer him a refund.
The man provided his banking information, at which point the scammer claimed to have made a mistake by refunding the man "an exorbitant" amount of money, police said. The scammer then told the man he needed the money returned immediately in the form of cash and to withdraw the funds from his bank account in three separate amounts.
The man did so and had the money sent to an address in Newfoundland as directed. It was after that, he learned the refund had already been removed from his account prior to his couriering the requested funds.
Police are continuing to investigate the scam.
