Tech Support Scam Targets Prince George's County Computer User, Suspects Sought: PGPD

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A tech support scam that happened in June targeting computer users has prompted the police department to ask for the public's help in finding the suspect behind the scheme.

A victim told the Prince George's Police Department that the victim had received a pop-up notification on their computer indicating their device had a virus and had been compromised. The victim was instructed to call a provided phone number. The victim spoke to several suspects who represented themselves as computer tech support employees, representatives from the victim’s bank and later officials from the Social Security Administration, according to the police department.

The suspects then emailed the victim a fraudulent document supposedly from the Social Security Administration that listed the victim’s name and the name of the victim’s bank. The victim was advised their bank account had been compromised and that the SSA was working with multiple trusted government agencies to assist the victim. The victim was instructed to withdraw money from the compromised bank account and provide the money to individuals working on behalf of the Social Security Administration. The victim was instructed to give the cash to an individual who would pick it up in person. That person provided an agreed upon code word to receive the money, the police department stated.

So far this year, the police department has received reports of 22 tech support scams resulting in a loss of approximately $500,000. In other instances of tech support scams, the victim will receive a computer pop-up message, text message or phone call from a scammer posing as a customer tech support agent. The scammer advises the victim his or her computer has a virus and has been compromised. To protect the victim’s computer, the scammer states they will need remote access into the victim’s device to resolve the issue. After being given remote access, the scammer tells the victim his or her financial accounts have also been compromised and transfers them to another scammer who poses as a bank official. The bank official scammer then steals the victim’s money by transferring it into cryptocurrency, purchasing gift cards, or arranging an illicit wire transfer, the police department shared.

"Never give personal financial information to anyone you do not know. If you are worried about software issues on your computer, contact the company managing your software or your anti-virus software company," the police department stated.

If you believe you have been the victim of a tech support scam or know the identity of the individual in the video or photos provided by the police department that can be seen below, you can contact detectives at 301-516-1464.