SANTA CRUZ COUNTY — Santa Cruz County officials on Wednesday warned residents to beware of a scam targeting seniors.
According to spokesman Jason Hoppin, scammers contact victims pretending to be employees of a computer company such as Microsoft, telling the victims that they are owed refunds for prior services.
This is almost certainly a scam, Hoppin said.
The scammers then ask to be given remote access to their bank account before being told the refund was excessive and to return excess payments via gift card or wire transfer.
Anyone who receives such a call should hang up, Hoppin said.
Those who have fallen victim to this scam should immediately tell their bank and report it to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.
To avoid this scam, Santa Cruz County Adult Protective Services has three suggestions:
• Never give a caller remote access to your computer.
• Legitimate companies will never ask you to pay them using gift cards.
• Never call the number in a virus alert “Pop-Up” on your computer.
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For information, call Santa Cruz County Adult Protective Services at 454-4101.
