Murfreesboro, TN - The Murfreesboro Police Department has issued a warning to the public regarding a sophisticated scam targeting elderly residents, resulting in significant financial losses for two victims.

 

The first reported case involved a 75-year-old individual who was deceived by a scam in which the perpetrator impersonated McAfee Services. The victim received multiple requests over several days for wire transfers, falsely claiming payments and penalties were owed. As a result, the 75-year-old wired a total of $138,000.

 

In another case, a 73-year-old victim encountered a fraudulent ad while shopping on eBay. The ad, posed as Microsoft and Federal Trade Association employees, led the victim to call a number where a scammer falsely claimed to have detected child pornography on the victim’s computer. The victim was instructed to download the ‘Any Viewer’ remote access app and subsequently set up a new bank account, transferring $32,000 into it. Further exploitation included wiring $28,000 of the $32,000 to a foreign account and maxing out credit cards to purchase $11,000 worth of gift cards, sending the card numbers and PINs under the pretense of rectifying the issue.

 

Detective Emily Speed emphasized vigilance and skepticism towards unsolicited communications requesting personal information, financial transactions, or software installation. Residents are advised to simply hang up if they receive similar calls.

 

If you have fallen victim to a similar scam, you are urged to contact Detective Speed at 629-201-5664.