KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Knoxville woman lost $1,000 to a scammer who took control of her computer claiming he was trying to fix it.
It all started when Sharon Hart bought a secondhand laptop, took it home, and went to register it. When she powered up, all of a sudden, her screen lit up, like there was an emergency, and she called the number listed on her screen to get help.
Hart bought the computer from a pawn shop in Knoxville. Once hooked up, she tried to register it.
“I brought the laptop home, got ready to register it, and it just started ringing,” said Hart. “It kept ringing – Call Microsoft, call Microsoft, your laptop is in danger.”
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With her laptop frozen, she called the number on the screen. A man answered requesting remote access.
“I was talking to a gentleman who said he was from Microsoft and he said he’d help me figure out what is wrong with my laptop. While I’m on the laptop with him, it’s still saying that. He’s like, well I’m going to fix it. Don’t worry, I’m going to fix it,” said Hart.