This week, a resident received a pop-up message on their computer that said their computer had been hacked, with a phone number to call, according to the Irvine Police Department.
The potential victim was duped into withdrawing $25,000 to be picked up from her residence by a courier. Thankfully, the victim called the Irvine Police Department when she realized the incident was suspicious.
Police officers responded and waited for the courier to arrive. When he came to collect the money, he was contacted by officers. The officers determined that the courier had replied to an application-based pick-up job and likely did not know he was in the middle of a scam.
The Irvine Police Department urges the community to be extremely careful of online scams. If someone you don’t know contacts you online (or on the phone) and claims that you owe money under the guise of being law enforcement, a utility company, or an organization you have no affiliation with, hang up and call the police.
In addition, if you work for an app-based courier, please call the police if the pick-up seems suspicious. You could be transporting illegal items or have been roped into a scam without knowing it.
An Uber driver was recently fatally shot by an elderly man in Ohio in a similar incident involving a criminal paying the driver to pick up cash from an estortion victim. The criminal told the elderly man that he had to pay to get his nephew out of jail. The suspect also threatened to kill the elderly man and his nephew if he didn’t pay the ransom. That elderly victim is now facing murder charges after he opened fire on the unfortunate Uber driver who came to pick up the money.
