ORLANDO, Fla. – A fake “Geek Squad” scam was traced back to a home in Orlando after millions of dollars were taken from victims, according to FBI records released last month.
In an affidavit, FBI investigators said that the agency received a message from an elderly Vermont resident about the scam back in May 2022.
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According to the affidavit, the scam involved a cyber actor — pretending to be a member of Best Buy’s Geek Squad — contacting the victim about a subscription that was set to renew, even though the victim had no such subscription.
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In trying to get a refund for the supposed renewal, the victim then allows the actor to take remote control of the victim’s computer, and the actor instructs the victim to log into their bank account during the remote session. The following then takes place:
- While in the account (and unknown to the victim at the time), the actor transfers a large sum of money from the victim’s savings account to the checking account
- The actor then lies to the victim, saying that the actor accidentally transferred too much money for the “refund”
- The victim is then instructed to wire that large sum to the actor’s bank account — not realizing the money had been taken from the savings account
- Other forms of the scam involve victims being instructed to return the money through thousands of dollars worth of gift cards
The affidavit shows that agents identified over 500 victims of these scams — many of whom are elderly — which cost over $3 million in losses.
However, investigators said they were also able to identify the account holder for the scammed funds as Neha Junaid. Court records state that 100 of the victims involved had sent funds through Junaid’s accounts, suffering collective losses of around $225,000.
Junaid’s email address was eventually traced back to an apartment at 6357 Conroy Road in Orlando, near the Montevista at Windermere apartment complex, investigators added.
According to FBI agents, others suspected in the scheme are either current or former students who came to the U.S. on a visa from India.
Junaid was arrested on Sept. 27 and faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
To avoid being the subject of similar renewal scams, the Federal Trade Commission recommends the following:
- Scammers could message you saying that you only have 24 hours to call and dispute the renewal. Don’t call that number.
- Call the company in question directly using a phone number you know is real.
- If you paid a scammer or they made an unauthorized transfer from your bank account, call your bank and ask them to reverse the transaction.
- If you sent cash by mail, contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455.
- If a scammer has remote access to your computer, update your security software, run a scan and delete anything identified as a problem.
To report a scam to the FTC, click here.
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