Brandon resident sent fraudsters $50K in 'Geek Squad' scheme: police

The Brandon Police Service is warning the public about the ‘Geek Squad’ scheme after recently learning that a local resident sent $50,000 to fraudsters.

In a Tuesday news release, police said this scheme involves fraudsters impersonating a well-known business called the Geek Squad, which is a subsidiary of Best Buy..

Victims will receive either a text or email saying they were charged hundreds of dollars to renew their Geek Squad membership. The victim is informed that if they want to dispute this charge, they have to call a certain number within 24 hours.

According to Brandon police, the victims who call this number are asked to provide remote access to their computer. If they allow this access, the fraudster will then be able to install spyware programs, steal online banking information, and take money from their bank accounts.

Police allege the fraudster may also ask a victim for bank account information to refund money, and then fake a transaction to make it seem like the fraudster gave too much. The fraudster will then ask the victim to pay them back with gift cards or by other means by providing PIN numbers to cards they convince the victim to purchase.

Anyone who receives a message like this, should not react. To be sure the real Geek Squad is not contacting you, you can contact the company with its phone number that can be found online. Police note that that you should not call the number provided in the message.

Those who are the victim of a fraud and have lost money should contact their local authorities.

The Brandon Police Service continues to investigate the incident where the victim lost $50,000.