Weymouth Police Warn Of Tech Support Scam

WEYMOUTH, MA — Weymouth police are warning residents to be wary of "pop-up tech support" ads on their computers after a town resident reported being scammed out of thousands of dollars. The scam involves a pop-up window that claims to alert the user to a security issue on the computer and instructs to call a phone number for assistance.

According to the Federal Trade Commission: "Tech support scammers want you to believe that you have a serious problems with your computer, like a virus. They want you to pay for tech support services you don't need, to fix a problem that doesn't exist.

"They often ask you to pay by wiring money, putting money on a gift card, prepaid card or cash reload card, or using a money transfer app because they know those types of payments can be hard to reverse."

The FCC said pop-up scams might look like an error message from your operating system or antivirus software, and it might use logos from trusted companies or websites. The message in the window warns of a security issue on your computer and tells you to call a phone number to get help.

The FCC said: "If you get this kind of pop-up window on your computer, don't call the number. Real security warnings and messages will never ask you to call a phone number."