WESTFIELD – An elderly city woman may have been defrauded of more than $1,500 by a person who claimed that he would help her fix her computer, police report.
Officer John Blascak reports that he responded to a fraud complaint and found that a Tow Path Lane resident reported that funds had been removed from her checking account without her knowledge and consent.
The 86-year-old woman explained that she found that $1,525 had been removed by an electronic transfer from her bank account to a Western Union account and said that when she called the bank she was told that the transfer was pending.
The victim told Blascak that her banker said that the bank would attempt to cancel the transaction and the woman’s account was closed.
Blascak said that the woman said that she had previously given her personal information to an unknown male who called and offered to help her fix her computer.
Tina Busch, the corporate security officer for Berkshire Bank, said that electronic transfers fall under the same regulations as debit card transfer and therefore, assuming the customer is not party to a fraud, the missing funds will be credited to her account.
Nonetheless, Busch said that customers should never give vital information such as a birth date or social security number to somebody who calls.
She said that the scam involving an offer to fix a computer by remote control is “a hot ticket this year” and said that several complaints of the scam have been received.
“Never ever let someone into your computer when you didn’t initiate the call” Busch said.
