Yakima Police Say Beware Of Costly Scams

Yakima Police are warning of two scams, one in which a Yakima woman lost more than $170,000. Spokesman Mike Bastinelli says it's a tech support scam. The woman received a call from a scammer who claimed to be from Microsoft saying she had a virus in her computer and that they could fix it. "And in order for them to fix it they have to provide access to their computer."
And that's what happened to the Yakima woman. After gaining access the woman's bank account and other information was accessed resulting in a loss of more than $170,000. Bastinelli says Microsoft never makes random calls. If you ever get such a call hang up.
Another scam circulating is the renters scam in which people are tricked into thinking a home is for rent through false pictures on social media. People are urged to wire money to reserve the homes or apartments and when they try and call back a number the numbers are no good and people are out of money.