MONROE - A shady Internet scammer working under the officious-sounding name "United Homeland Cyberspace Division" found an unsuspecting victim in Monroe last week.
The resident reported the scam to Monroe police at about 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, but only after she'd lost $300 in the fraudulent setup, according to Chief Fred Kelley.
The scam works as a virus that locks up the computer. An entity claiming to be "United Homeland Cyberspace Division" then asks the user to pay $300 to get the computer unlocked.
"It appears to be official," Kelley said.
In this case, the virus informed the woman her computer was locked because she supposedly looked at child pornography online and would only be able to unblock the virus by paying a "fine."
"Well, that never happens," Kelley said.
The woman fell for the scam and is out the money since local law enforcement can do little in such cases to investigate scammers, Kelley said. Monroe police reported the scam to federal authorities.
The resident reported the scam to Monroe police at about 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, but only after she'd lost $300 in the fraudulent setup, according to Chief Fred Kelley.
The scam works as a virus that locks up the computer. An entity claiming to be "United Homeland Cyberspace Division" then asks the user to pay $300 to get the computer unlocked.
"It appears to be official," Kelley said.
In this case, the virus informed the woman her computer was locked because she supposedly looked at child pornography online and would only be able to unblock the virus by paying a "fine."
"Well, that never happens," Kelley said.
The woman fell for the scam and is out the money since local law enforcement can do little in such cases to investigate scammers, Kelley said. Monroe police reported the scam to federal authorities.