Opening an email that he thought was from a friend cost a victim $15,000 in a computer scam, according to the Hopewell Township Police Department.
The chain of events began in August after he opened the email, police said. Soon after he opened it, his computer began beeping. A pop-up message directed him to call a number for computer assistance.
The victim called the number and spoke to a man who claimed to work for the company that made his web browser. He told the victim that his bank account may have been compromised, and that he needed to withdraw money and put it into a cryptocurrency account.
When the deposit to the cryptocurrency account failed, he was told to meet a courier at a Pennington business with the money. The victim met the courier and handed him $15,000 in cash.
The incident of fraud and theft, which remains under investigation, was reported on Sept. 18.
