Phone Scam Cheats Palatine Grandma Out Of $4K In Gift Cards

PALATINE, IL — Police are warning residents to watch out for a phone scam that recently swindled a grandmother out of $4,000 in gift cards. These schemes targeting seniors have been on the rise, and they involve convincing victims to purchase gift cards or make wire transefers in order to help a relative in trouble or pay tax debts to the IRS, Palatine police said.

In the most recent reported case, a Palatine woman, 86, received a call on March 29 from a man claiming he was a lawyer representing the woman's grandson, who had been arrested in Chicago when drugs were found in his car after a crash. The man told the victim that her grandson needed $4,000 paid for in gift cards in order to be released from police custody. The woman bought the gift cards and then called the man back to give him the card numbers and security codes, according to police.

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Two days later, the victim spoke with her grandson, discovering there was no car crash and no arrest, police said.

Residents are urged not to send gift cards or money to anyone they don't know. Police also offered the following tips to avoid falling for these scams:

• Don't pay to college sweepstakes winnings.
• Verify the caller.
• Never read a gift card number over the phone to a caller no matter how much he or she might pressure you.

For more information or to report being the victim of a scam, residents can call the Palatine Police Crime Prevention Unit at 847-359-9061.

photo via Shutterstock

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