Computer Virus Leads to $20 Million Scam Targeting Pianist

[Mythbuster]

Computer Virus Leads to $20 Million Scam Targeting Pianist Composer

Yes, this is for real ... the article appeared today (11/9/2010) in Wired Magazine online: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/1 ... ser-bilked

Summary: A noted classical pianist, composer and Latin music producer found himself drawn into an elaborate years-long extortion scheme that cost him between $6 and $20 million after he brought his laptop into a computer repairman to help rid it of a virus.

The alleged fraudsters, a computer repairman and his girlfriend in suburban New York, convinced the wealthy 58-year-old that he was the victim of an especially sophisticated piece of malware controlled by a devious group in Honduras, and that he and his family were also targeted for harm by a group of Polish priests out to topple the U.S. government. The scam was reported in a statement released by the Westchester County District Attorney’s office on Monday and in a New York Times story.

The complex scam continued for six years before the two suspects, who claimed to be working with the CIA to thwart the Polish priests, were arrested as they prepared to leave on a trip to Iceland.

[JamesVincent]

And someone believed them?

[Cathulhu]

I wonder if it involved rubbing an egg over the computer to remove a curse...