Updated June 26, 2019

A phone scammer talked a 77-year-old Lincoln County woman out of a substantial amount of money Saturday while posing as a salesman.

According to a sheriff’s department report, the man told the woman that he was selling a computer security system. 

The amount of the charge for the system was nominal, but the victim gave the caller her bank account numbers, and the scammer withdrew a large amount of money from her account.

To avoid being a victim of a computer scam, follow these tips provided by the Better Business Bureau (BBB):

Do not purchase any software or services from an unsolicited call, email, bogus website or online ad.

Never give control of your computer to a third party unless you can confirm that it is a legitimate representative of a computer support team with whom you are already a customer.

Don't  be fooled if a phony tech support scammer knows your name, address or even some facts about how your computer operates. Cybercriminals trade information about customers and often claim to have specific information about your computer that is very generic.

Never contact the fraudulent company or respond to a fraudster claiming to need your financial information to address overpayment or provide a refund.