Rochester Police Reports Two Separate Cases of Fraud

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Two Rochester residents fell for two separate scams.

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Rochester Police Capt. Casey Moilanen said the first scam involved a 91-year-old man who responded to what he thought was an official pop-up from Microsoft. After filling out the information, the man received a call from the scammer that identified himself as “Tom Griffin”. The scammer said that he could fix the computer, but would need $1,000 in Target gift cards.

The man then purchased two $500 gift cards and gave the gift card numbers to the scammer. The scammer then said the man would need to pay an additional $40,000 to fix the computer, that’s when the man realized it was a scam.

In a separate fraud case, Capt. Moilanen said a 36-year-old woman found an ad on Facebook for an apartment for rent. She filled out an application asking for her birth date, credit card information, and other personal information.

Later, she saw an ad on Facebook with the same photo, but a different phone number. She called the number and learned of the actual listing, and that she had fallen for a scam.

The Rochester Police Department is reminding residents that they should never put their personal information in a pop-up ad, and you should visit the property, and meet face-to-face to speak to the landlord before filling out an application that requires personal information.