Elderly Woman Scammed Out Of Thousands: Riverside Cops

RIVERSIDE, IL — An elderly Riverside resident was scammed out of thousands of dollars, according to Riverside Police. Police said they received a call from a 74-year-old woman on May 17 who believed she had been the victim of a theft by deception.

According to police, it was learned that the victim had received an email on Facebook telling her she had been hacked, all her personal information on her computer had been exposed, and she should call a specific phone number to resolve the issue. The woman called the number and a man told her to buy four Google Play cards and two Apple gift cards totaling $1,800.

Police said the scammer then told the victim to stay on the phone as she traveled from store to store to make the purchases. The victim did this and went to Walgreen's in Lyons and Jewel in Stickney to buy the cards as
the scammer reassured her she was doing the right thing. Investigating officers contacted Google Play to get the cards canceled, but it wasn't possible.

Riverside detectives were able to trace the call from the phone number and it was out of California, according to police. When officers further inquired with different law enforcement agencies, they found that
the same number had been used on many fraud complaints in California. The police investigation is
ongoing.

Riverside police detectives warn individuals not to respond to these types of fraud. At no time will you
receive a Facebook email or any other type of notification saying your computer was hacked.

“It's deplorable that someone would scam over $1,800 from a 74 year old female living alone," Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said in a release. "He even stayed on the phone with her as she went from store to store - completely despicable. I also have concerns that the employees at both stores thought there was nothing unusual about these transactions. The stores need to better train their employees to recognize these types of scams.”

Riverside police have filed a complaint on behalf of the victim with the FCC on this scam.

Image via Shutterstock.