{"id":1086,"date":"2026-06-02T22:35:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T22:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=1086"},"modified":"2026-06-02T22:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T22:35:49","slug":"im-out-almost-20000-hackers-use-fake-pop-up-to-drain-retirees-accounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=1086","title":{"rendered":"‘I’m out almost $20,000’: Hackers use fake pop-up to drain retiree’s accounts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A pop-up appears on your screen. It looks urgent. There’s a phone number to call for help. So you call \u2014 and within minutes, a hacker is inside your computer and draining your life savings.<\/p>\n

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It’s a scheme that plays out every day, and retirement accounts are increasingly in the crosshairs.<\/p>\n

“Various things popped up on my laptop,” said Brenda, a retiree who asked that her last name not be published.<\/p>\n

Brenda said she was on her computer when the unexpected pop-up appeared. It displayed a seemingly urgent security alert \u2014 along with a phone number for Microsoft.<\/p>\n

She said the agent who answered her phone call told her there was pornography on her computer.<\/p>\n

“I’m thinking, ‘How in the world did that get on my laptop?'” she said.<\/p>\n

Brenda said she was instructed to download a program to remove the files, “and I guess that’s what gave him access to my computer.”<\/p>\n

Within minutes, she said her financial accounts were targeted. <\/p>\n

Criminals stole about $1,250 from her credit union account and more than $6,000 from her 401(k). Altogether, Brenda lost about $16,000.<\/p>\n

Watch as a retiree shows how easily hackers got into her bank accounts:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Fake tech support warning: Woman loses $16,000<\/div>\n
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Remote access a “flashing neon sign”<\/b><\/p>\n

Amy Nofziger, senior director of victim support for AARP’s Fraud Watch Network, said the organization’s helpline receives calls about fake pop-ups every day.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes it has alarms and so really gets people panicked and they really don’t know what else to do but call that number,” Nofziger said.<\/p>\n

She said no legitimate company will ever ask for unsolicited remote access to your computer.<\/p>\n

“That is not just a red flag, that is a flashing neon sign,” Nofziger said.<\/p>\n

She said it’s no surprise that hackers are targeting retirement accounts, which typically hold more money than checking or savings accounts.<\/p>\n

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“The number one goal of any criminal is to steal as much money as quickly as they can from their victims,” Nofziger said. “Oftentimes victims have a significant amount of money in their brokerage accounts and their retirements accounts, and so that’s where the criminals are going to go.”<\/p>\n

Protect yourself from tech support scams<\/b><\/p>\n

If you receive a suspicious pop-up on your device, experts with AARP recommend the following steps:<\/p>\n