NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — In early May, 86-year-old Sandra Jung was on her computer when she suddenly saw a message claiming she had malware.
She figured it was a scam, so she looked up the number for Microsoft to ask someone about it.
Someone answered that phone call and they were claiming that Microsoft owed her money—that's where the trouble began.
“It was $150 but they had a new product now,” Jung said. “And so they were going to refund the $150."
When Jung tried to accept the refund, it appeared to give her $15,000 instead of the $150 they had told her about. The man on the phone said she needed to reverse the damage.
“He just said, ‘Oh no, this is awful. This is awful,’” Jung explained. “He got so upset. He said he was in big trouble now."
After some back and forth, the man convinced her to pay back some of the extra money— which amounted to nearly $10,000.
Jung said something did feel off, but since she'd found the number herself, she figured she had to do what the man said.
“I even said to him, “This seems like a scam,” she said. “But I looked up the number. I called him. So how could this be a scam?”
You might be wondering, how did this happen to her?
Cara Carlin with the Better Business Bureau explained how oftentimes the first numbers that come up when you search for a company on Google aren’t the ones you should be calling.
"Often these fake listings are done through advertising,” Carlin said. “So when you're in the search engine, we recommend that consumers scroll past those ads."
However, for Jung, it was too late. The money she was going to use to take care of her partner is now gone.
She echoed the Bureau’s advice. People should click on the actual website of the company they're trying to contact, rather than just call the first number that comes up.
Jung also said that if you fall for a scam like this, you need to report it.
"The most important thing is not to feel embarrassed and not to think you've got to not tell anybody,” she said. “It's better to have it be known."
Jung said she won’t be able to get her money back.
She filed a report with the Attorney General’s office, but that’s all she’s been able to do.