Computer Corruption Email Scam Dupes Woman in Fairfax: Police

FAIRFAX, VA — A city woman fell victim to an email scam Friday warning of a computer virus in the 3700 block of Richard Avenue, according to Fairfax Police.

Shortly after 6:30 p.m., she told police she opened an email on her computer around 11 a.m. saying her computer had been corrupted and that she needed to call a provided phone number to fix it.

She did, and the man who answered said he would update her computer's security but first needed a credit card number for payment.

So she complied. Later, though, her bank contacted her and said the credit charge quite likely was a fraud, and the email was found to be spam.

Also in Monday's Fairfax crime report:

Incident / Case #…
Larceny

17-02243
10870 Fairfax Boulevard / Super H Mart – On February 10 at 8:21 PM the victim reported that on February 9 between 8:30 PM and 9:00 PM unknown person(s) had taken her wallet which she had left unattended in the store. The wallet contained an iPhone, identification and credit cards.

DUI Arrest
17-02259
Main Street / Roberts Road – On February 10 at 11:30 PM an officer who had conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for failure to obey a highway sign determined that the driver was intoxicated. Li-Ping Hsiao, 25, of 10297 Friendship Court, Fairfax, was transported to the Adult Detention Center where she was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

Unlawful Entry Arrest
17-02301
10400 Block of Courthouse Drive – On February 11 at 3:33 PM the resident reported that an intoxicated male subject she did not know had walked into her home. Officers located the suspect in the area. John Joseph Carroll, 23, of no fixed address, was taken into custody and transported to the Adult Detention Center where he was charged with unlawful entry and drunk in public.

Larceny
17-02311
3501 Rebel Run / Fairfax High School – On February 11 at 6:30 PM the victim’s mother reported that between 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM unknown person(s) had stolen her son’s iPhone which he had left in a gym bag in an unlocked locker.

Image via Shutterstock