A Wichita woman is out more than $100,000 after falling victim to the “Microsoft” scam, which has been around in multiple forms for more than a decade.

In this case, a woman in her 70’s got a popup on her computer indicating there was an error that needed to be fixed. The popup included a phone number, which the woman called. The person on the other end claimed the woman’s social security number had been compromised, and she should move money out of her bank accounts. The caller said Microsoft would then removed a virus from her computer. The person on the other end of the phone even went as far as telling the woman what to say when pulling money out of her bank account, telling her to say it is for “investments” if anyone asks. A bank teller did ask as the woman withdrew money, and she said it was for investments. The withdrawn money was then transferred to other accounts as directed by the scammer she had been talking with.

These calls continued from July to September before the woman’s family found out what was going on.

Investigators with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office are working on this case, but say it’s rare for funds to be returned in cases like this.

Microsoft will never cold call you to tell you about a problem your PC is having, and any popups you get on the internet claiming your PC has problems should be regarded as false. Similar claims may be made through e-mails.

If you become the victim of a scam you are urged to report it to local law enforcement.