If you get a call and someone wants to refund money to your account and wants you to go to your computer so that they can put it in there… DON’T DO IT!

I did, and came within an inch of sending them $2500. They said Geek Squad was going out of business, and they were returning money I paid for a contract a couple of years ago. I’ve got to give these dirtbags credit for ingenuity – they asked me to type in the amount to be refunded, but when I typed in $300 it came up $3000, and they wanted me to send them back the difference via gift cards. Like a puppy, I ran down to the store and almost bought $2500 in gift cards. I know what you are thinking, but when I put the $3000 in, it actually was deposited into my checking account. I could see it online. So I felt I was just refunding some of their money (doing the right thing). What I didn’t know was that the $3000 didn’t come from them – instead, they had access to my computer and bank accounts and were able to request a cash advance from one of my other credit cards, so the $3000 was my own money! They were able to do this without my giving them any account numbers, but they had the last four digits and access to my computer. I logged into my bank account, and so they could see that. At one point, I may have put in my Social Security number.

Be careful.