Woodbridge Man Loses $499 in Internet Scam, Police Report

WOODBRIDGE, NJ - Watch out for computer scams, Woodbridge: A Township man reported to police this month that he was tricked out of $499 in a computer scam, money which he later recovered.

The man said that on Dec. 9 he was on his home computer when a pop-up came across his screen, asking him to call a number to fix a virus on the computer. He called the number, and spoke to a man who said he worked for a company (unnamed in the report) and that he had fixed the virus issue. The bill would be $499. The Woodbridge man gave his Visa credit card number. That night the victim talked to his daughter, and she told him he had been scammed. The man figured there was little he could do and did not fight the credit card charge.

However, a month later, on Jan. 8, the man got a call again from the same company. The caller said the money hadn't gone through and he needed another payment. The man hung up, called his credit card company and canceled his Visa card. He also got a $499 credit back on his account and a new credit card.

Since then, the Woodbridge man has received at least two more calls from the unknown company, saying they need to do another transaction. It was after receiving the two more phone calls that the man decided to file a police report.

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