Springfield Twp. Police Warn of Computer Scam

If you think something seems suspicious, that’s because it most likely is. That’s the message Springfield Township Police shared in an alert about computer pop-up scams they said they’ve investigated recently.

In a post on the department’s Crimewatch site Tuesday, police said they have received “multiple calls” from residents reporting fraudulent activity stemming from their use of computers.

“In most cases, victims report seeing a pop-up from ‘Microsoft’ alerting them to a threat on their computer and instructing them to call the phone number provided in the alert box,” police said. “Once the victim calls the phone number, the person who answers claims they are from Microsoft and will help them clear up their computer, most of the time claiming the issue stemmed from questionable pornography sites on the computer. The person then requests remote access to the computer and ultimately requests payment from the victims, mainly in the form of Bitcoin.”

Police said residents shouldn’t be afraid to question the authenticity of a message on their computer screen.

“Call police immediately if you have any suspicion of scams or fraud,” they advised, noting that “99.9 percent of the time” residents who believe they are being scammed are correct.

“These scammers are slick. Don’t become a victim!” police added.