A Brantford woman allegedly lost $19,000 from her bank account after falling for an online scam.

Brantford police say the scam began when the 75-year-old woman got a phone call from someone claiming to work for Microsoft.

The caller claimed the woman was owed a refund by Microsoft, and said he needed access to her computer, debit card and banking information in order to send the money.

The woman later checked her bank account and learned that it had gone from $19,000 to zero.

After that, police say, the man called back and said he would give the woman her money back if she bought him $2,100 worth of iTunes gift cards.

According to police, the woman went to a Walmart store to buy the cards, and was told by a worker there that she was likely the victim of a scam.

Police say Microsoft does not employ people who randomly contact people about their computers, and anyone receiving a call from someone claiming to work for Microsoft in that capacity should hang up right away.