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Beware of scammers posing as computer repair workers

The Lake County sheriff's office is warning the public of an emerging financial scam committed over electronic devices, including cellphones and computers.

Scammers on the phone pose as employees of computer repair companies and say they "accidentally" deposited money into the victim's bank account. In some cases, the scammers will tell victims that the only way they can repay the falsely deposited money is to purchase gift cards and give them the gift card numbers over the phone.

In other cases, the scammer will persuade the victim to download a computer program that gives the scammer access to the victim's data.

Authorities say people should be aware that companies and government entities are not paid with gift cards, and they should not allow anyone they do not know to persuade them to download an unknown program to their computer.

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