Ex-Pastor Victim to Computer Virus, Identity Theft

Ed Johnson, former pastor of First Baptist Church of Ocala, Fla., had roughly $10,000 stolen from him earlier this month as a computer virus hacked into his online banking accounts and stole his credit card numbers.

Johnson had five credit accounts hacked, including two bank debit cards, two personal credit cards and a corporate credit card. Charges were made at gas stations, Wal-Marts and Tractor Supply Company stores.

Johnson’s computer picked up the virus by opening an e-mail he believed was from the United Parcel Service. The e-mail message informed him that a package was supposed to receive was unable to be delivered. He clicked on the link and a screen suddenly alerted him that he’d been infected with a Trojan horse virus. The former pastor was unaware that the virus might gain access to files stored on his computer that contain his personal banking information. It wasn’t until several weeks later that mysterious charges began appearing on his credit statement.

Thankfully, Johnson thinks he will be able to recoup most of the lost funds through credit protection services. The illegal users of the credit cards, however, have not been caught.

Source:

Ocala.com: PC virus hijacks ex-pastor’s credit card numbers

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