Murfreesboro Police Warn of New Scam Targeting the Elderly

The Murfreesboro Police Department is alerting the public to a sophisticated scam targeting elderly residents. Two victims have already suffered significant financial losses.

The first reported case involves a 75-year-old who fell victim to the scam on March 1, after receiving an email from someone impersonating McAfee Services. The scam involved multiple requests over several days for wire transfers claiming the man owed payments and penalties. The 75-year-old was deceived into wiring a total of $138,000.

Another case involved a 73-year-old victim who encountered a fraudulent ad while shopping on eBay on March 7 by scammers posing as Microsoft and Federal Trade Association employees. The ad prompted him to call a number that led to a scammer falsely claiming to have detected child pornography on the man’s computer. The victim was instructed to download the ‘Any Viewer’ remote access app and then deceived him into setting up a new bank account and transferring $32,000 into it. The victim was then instructed to wire $28,000 of the $32,000 to a foreign account. The scammers further exploited the victim by having him to max out his credit cards and purchase $11,000 worth of gift cards and send the card numbers and PINs, supposedly to rectify the issue.

“We strongly advise residents to remain vigilant and skeptical of unsolicited communications asking for personal information, financial transactions, or the installation of software,” said Detective Emily Speed. “If you receive a similar call, simply hang up.”

If you have already fallen victim, contact Detective Speed at 629-201-5664.