A retired Johnston County man says he was tricked by someone who called his home claiming to be a federal drug agent. Last month, the 72 year-old man said he was at home when he received a telephone call from the impostor.
The caller claimed they were a federal drug agent investigating a narcotics case in Texas. They claimed the man’s name had surfaced in their investigation and began questioning if he had recently been to Texas.
The victim said he had never been in trouble before and quickly became nervous. The law enforcement impersonator claimed they could clear the man’s name if he would sent them five $500 Target gift cards. The man obtained the cards and provided the card numbers to the fraudster. Only later did he realize he had been scammed out of $2,500.
Johnston County authorities are investigating.
Had the same thing but the scammer said he was a investorgator with the Social Security Office. Contacted the SS and handed over all info we had.
Texas is a Hotspot for scammers. Do not be fooled people. If the scammer claims to be from the IRS, SS, or any other federal agency its a scam. The real agencies will not call you. You will either get a knock on your door or a certified mail from said agency.
DO NOT BE FOOLED THE REAL AGENCIES WILL NOT CALL YOU. If you do get a call report it to the appropriate agency.
A fool and his money are soon parted…
I wouldn’t suggest an elderly person is a fool for being scammed out of money. Anyone who suggests such would be the fool.
“Texas is a Hotspot for scammers.” Nope!!
These scammers are from India!!! Every dollar they steal goes straight to India. They are evil, evil people…they go after our vulnerable elderly!!! Those scammers must be stopped!!! Our government should be blasting warnings on every TV channel and on every piece of mail sent by SSA, Medicare and every other piece of mail sent to everybody!!!!! Myself and a lot of other “scambaiters” fight against the scammers every day. But our government evidently doesn’t believe it’s a problem!!!! Scammers steal millions and millions of dollars from US citizens every year and most of that money goes to India. We need to educate everybody about these scams (SSA scams, Amazon refund scams, Tech support scams….the list goes on and on!!) young and old are in danger from these scammers!!!!!!
I have received NUMEROUS CALLS from SS, IRS, DRUG UNIT, ETC.. MORE MORE MORE!!Many times they’ve called, should you receive a call NOTICE they have Foreign Accents,.. mostly India based! Hang up & call to report! Longer you are on phone more they can hack into your phone info.!! As stated these & other Government Agencies will NOT CALL YOU!! THEY WILL SEND NOTIFICATIONS IN THE MAIL(NOT E-MAIL) OR IN PERSON!! BEWARE OF THOSE ACCENTS!!