The Pickerington Police Department warns residents to protect their personal information after learning of reports that scam artists have conned at least one elderly man out of $7,000.
Pickerington Police Chief Mike Taylor said his office was recently contacted by a local grocery store because a clerk was concerned for an elderly customer who came in on two separate days to purchase several hundred dollars in gift cards.
The customer reportedly told the clerk that the gift cards were to pay for an attorney for his granddaughter, who was involved in an accident in another state. The cards were also to be used to help compensate the victims of the vehicle she hit.
Out of concern for the customer, the store clerk contacted the Pickerington Police Department.
“We made contact with the subject and tried to explain to him that this is a scam, but at the time he was insistent that it was his granddaughter because they even put her on the phone to talk to him. The victim said that she was crying, so it was hard to understand her,” Taylor said.
Since the victim was not a Pickerington resident, the City Police Department urged the victim to file an incident report with the Fairfield County Sheriff. The victim provided the caller with the gift card numbers totaling $7,000.
“The reason for using the gift cards is they are almost impossible to trace back because the caller will call back on a non-traceable phone, and the victim is required to read off the serial number on the back of the cards. Then, the caller uses the gift cards to make purchases, and he or she maybe returns them to receive the cash back,” Taylor said.
In addition to requesting payments in gift cards, there are times con artists issue checks to their targets, but require the individuals to send them money back in the form of a money order. Later, the victims discover the checks they were issued were bad checks.
A new popular scam involves a con artist claiming that he or she works for the IRS and that money needs to be sent to the IRS immediately, Taylor said.
The Police Department also recommends that residents watch what they post on Facebook. Scam specialists research victims as much as possible so that they sound believable when they call.
Scam victims should contact the Pickerington Police Department. Resources also exist within Fairfield County. Fairfield County also has a dedicated person specializing in elderly abuse and exploitation who works through the prosecutor’s office. For more information on avoiding scammers, visit www.protectingtheelderly.com. Report scams at www.ftc.gov and www.ic3.gov.
