Madison County Sheriff’s Office warns of scam circulating in county

MADISON, Fla. (WTXL) — The Madison County Sheriff’s Office warned of a scam scheme circulating in the county on Monday.

According to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page, “The scammer identifies himself/herself as an employee with Norton Computer Security. The scammer calls and informs the intended victim that they owe the victim a refund. They ask for permission to log into the victims’ personal banking account so the refund can be transferred. While accessing the victim’s account, the scammer informs the victim that they made a “mistake” and accidentally deposited too much money in the victim’s account. The scammer then requests the victim to wire the overpayment they deposited minus the owed refund back to them.

“The scammer will provide the victim with the name of the bank, person, and account number required to return the overpayment. In this scam, the scammer will move the “accidental overpayment money” from another account owned by the victim to the account identified for refund. It will appear to be a legitimate transfer when the victim is reviewing the account, however it is the victim’s money transferred from another compromised account. If the victim follows the instructions of the scammer, the victim will lose their own money.”

The sheriff’s office advised its citizens to:

• Never allow any unknown person to access your 

  computer / device either in-person or remotely 

• Never provide passwords or account information 

• Never provide personal information to individuals who are 

  not known 

• Call the company/business yourself to verify 

• Review all accounts routinely for any suspicious 

  or unauthorized account activity 

The sheriff’s office notes if you believe you have been a victim of this or any other scam, call the Madison County Sheriff’s Office at 850-973-4001 ext. 1.