CLAYTON – An elderly woman said she was scammed last week by a caller who claimed he was an employee of Amazon Prime.
The 73 year-old victim was at home when she received a phone call from someone pretending to be with Amazon. The caller claimed they were trying to refund $39.99 to her account but made a mistake and deposited $3,999. They scammer said the elderly victim needed to obtain $4,000 in Walmart gift cards and provide them with the card numbers.
The victim obtained $2,000 in gift cards and provided them with the numbers to $1,000 of the cards. She became concerned and declined to provide them with any more information. Later, she realized it was a scam.
Authorities say that scammers frequently pretend to work for online websites. If you receive a similiar call, hang up the phone. If you are concerned they may have your personal information, check your credit card and bank accounts for any charges you may not recognize. And report fake calls to the business using contact information off their website. You can also report the call to the Federal Trade Commission.
In this case, the victim lost $1,000 and they funds are not recoverable.
