WACO, Texas — The holidays are a great time to give back the community, but one thing to be cautious of are scammers. You can get caught in a scam before you know it, and by then it’s too late, and around the holidays there’s a few scams to look for, like protection plans. One Waco Resident purchased a printer from Walmart and said it was comprised and led to a bank scam.
- Mark Adamson purchased a printer from Walmart and connected his anti-virus software to the printer and found 162 viruses.
- He soon began to get unsolicited phone calls asking for credit card information and calls from his bank about a potential scam.
- If you do think you've been scammed you should contact the Better Business Bureau, your local police department, and your financial institution.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“I just thought it was safe.”
Mark Adamson bought a printer from Walmart in October
“Instead of $99 It was on sale for $64, So you know I just grabbed It and ran. You know. Boy I paid for that,” said Mark Adamson.
He hooked it up with his normal anti-virus software and was all set, but got another for extra assurance. The new software found 162 viruses.
“My mistake was putting all my cards on my computer on my PC. That was my mistake,” he said.
That card information on Adamson’s computer led to a world of problems, he began getting calls about high credit card payments
“He said we can fix all this for you. We can get this all right for you. And I’m like we’ll someone help me,” said Adamson
He was asked to sign over his card information, but the big red flag came from his bank.
“They said get over here right now, we’ve got to close your accounts,” said Adamson.
And that’s when he knew.
“Oh, yeah this was definitely a scam,” he said.
I spoke with the Better Business Bureau. They tell me scammers work in seasons here are some ways to detect a scam.
The caller will threaten legal retaliation to get you to act fast.
They could send text messages or emails with links.
And one thing to remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
If you do think you've been scammed, you should contact your bank, the police, and the Better Business Bureau.
Adamson told me he’s still afraid to connect anything to his Wifi, and that this whole situation has made him more aware of what numbers pop up on his phone.
