Pianist loses over $6 million in bizarre computer virus-related scam

Graham Cluley
Graham Cluley
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A court has heard that a couple conned at least $6 million from the great-grandson of an oil industry tycoon after he brought his virus-infected computer in for repair.

Although the victim’s name has not been released by the authorities, the media has named him as jazz pianist and composer Roger Davidson, an heir of oil tycoon Conrad Schlumberger.

According to media reports, prosecutors in Westchester, New York, charged 36-year-old Vickram Bedi and his girlfriend Helga Invarsdottir. The couple are said to have tricked the composer into believing that while investigating the virus they had found evidence that his life was in danger.

Bedi and his 39-year-old girlfriend were arrested last week at their home in Chappaqua, as they were preparing to leave for Iceland.

Now, you’re not going to believe this next bit. I didn’t at first either.

Over the course of six…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.

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