A Crossville man has lost $3,500 to a Microsoft scam.

The 92-year-old victim told police he was on his computer when it froze up.  A message popped up on the screen along with a contact number that appeared to be from Microsoft.  The victim called the number and spoke with a person who called himself Andy Lupas. The victim was told that Microsoft would unlock the computer for $4,000.  The victim was then instructed to purchase gift cards.  When the victim did not have enough funds to purchase $4,000 in gift cards, the amount was lowered to $3,500.

The victim was told to go to Lowe’s and purchase Sephora gift cards using his credit card.  He was instructed to read the numbers off the back of the cards. He had already given the information to who he believed was an employee of Microsoft before realizing it was a scam.

Please remember, never click anything on your computer or phone unless you are absolutely certain of the source.  Also, anytime anyone asks you to purchase gift cards as a form of payment, it is always a scam.   If you have elderly friends or loved ones who are online, please inform them about such scams and tell them to call you before they click, call, text, or communicate in any way with people they do not know.