CHASE MILLS -- A Chase Mills couple recently lost $1,200 to an internet scam and say they want to warn others so it doesn’t happen to them.

Sandra Kerr said she was scrolling through a Google search results page while trying to find a recipe and a pop up window obscured her entire screen.

She said the window told her if she didn’t buy an antivirus program within five minutes, her computer would be infected with a virus.

“It was hot pink and you couldn’t click off of it,” she said, adding that the scammers claimed to be a company called Smart PC Experts from Florida.

Kerr said she didn’t know what to do, and isn’t computer savvy, so she paid for the anti-virus software the company claimed to sell. They ended up taking $1,200 from her debit card.

She said she was running McAfee, which didn’t block the malware. After initially hitting a dead end with customer service there, but later having luck after getting through to their tech support, they were able to get the malware cleaned from their computer.

Kerr and her husband, Bill, said they didn’t file a police report, but are disputing the $1,200 charge.