Scammers claiming to be from computer company try to swindle thousands in gift cards

A 91-year-old woman told Myrtle Beach police callers claimed to be with Microsoft, and told her she needed to hand over thousands of dollars in gift cards for computer repairs, according to an incident report.

Officers were called about 8 p.m. Monday to a home along 38th Avenue North where the woman reported the apparent scam, police said.

She told authorities she got a call from a man who stated he was with Microsoft, and that her computer needed repair work. He then told her to use her credit card to buy gift cards from Walmart that totaled to $5,500, the report states.

The suspect told her the money would be refunded once they got the gift cards and her computer was fixed, the victim told police.

She also told officers she didn’t know the suspect, or where he called from, and also said she’s gotten multiple calls from different numbers about the same thing recently.

Police told her it was a scam, and instructed her to alert her credit card company immediately. She was also told to save the Walmart gift cards in case the credit card company wanted them.

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Scammers claiming to be from computer company try to swindle thousands in gift cards."