Nutley Resident Hit By Fake ‘Microsoft Refund’ Scam: Police

NUTLEY, NJ — Nutley police say that a local resident was victimized during a phone scam earlier this month.

Nutley police said that the alleged scam took place on Dec. 18, when the victim received a call from an unknown man with a foreign accent. The caller told the victim that they “overpaid” for their Microsoft service by $500, and because they could not send them a check refund, it had to be transferred to their account.

Nutley police stated:

“The victim does not recall if they provided their financial institution bank account information to the caller. The suspect called the victim again and advised that they transferred $5,000 into the victim’s account instead of $500. It was at this time that the caller instructed the victim to purchase a prepaid card for the amount of $4,500 and provide him with the card number so he can retrieve the funds.”

The victim then purchased a Google Play gift card and provided the number to the caller, police said.

Nutley police continued:

“It was at this time that the victim described the incident to family members who realized that the victim was being scammed. The victim contacted their financial institution and closed their account. The actor called back the cellphone again stating that he transferred $24,900 into the victim’s new bank account and asked them to transfer those funds to the Bangkok Bank under the name of ‘Pattaneeya Nakornwong.’ The victim stated they did not follow those instructions, but did not know how the suspect had their new bank information. The victim stated they closed their new bank account and did not open a new account with the bank.”

Nutley police said the victim believes the suspect has their personal information, including social security number.

Police said the victim signed an identity theft file consent form and was entered into the database. The victim was advised of the case number for their records and told that should the identity of the suspected scamster become known, they could file a complaint with the court.

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