PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) is advising residents of a computer security scam that has already fooled one person out of over half a million dollars.
PCSO said scammers are using fake McAfee security pop-ups to trick people into giving them remote computer access.
Once they have access, they dupe the victim into depositing money into Bitcoin ATMs, purchasing gold bars, and withdrawing money that is transferred to the scammer.
One victim was conned out of over $530,000, PCSO said.
PCSO advises residents to protect themselves by not giving personal or account information over the phone or computer, never allowing remote access to unexpected pop-ups, not clicking on pop-up links, and keeping security software up-to-date.
“You know, it might just be time we take a look if HOAs are really even necessary.
Maybe we should just do away with homeowner associations as a whole.”
South Florida lawmaker Rep. Juan Carlos Porras (R-Miami) says it may be time to do away with homeowners associations altogether, as more Floridians speak out about rising fees, costly lawsuits, and even arrests tied to HOA disputes. He said this week that he is considering filing legislation in the next session that would abolish HOAs statewide.
