Rochester Woman Loses Thousands of Dollars to Phone Scam
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- For the second day in a row the Rochester Police Department is reporting a scam that cost its victim thousands of dollars.
A police spokesman says an 82-year-old Rochester woman told officers she received a message on her phone that indicated the device may have been hacked and that she was at risk of a financial loss. The woman then spoke with a scammer who posed as an Amazon customer service representative.
Related: Rochester Man Loses $168,000 to Scam
Police say the suspect tricked the woman into believing Amazon had deposited $2,000 into her bank account. The woman was instructed to purchase Amazon gift cards and share the redemption numbers with the caller. Police say the woman compiled and shared the numbers of $3,600 worth of gift cards with the scammer from August 25 until she reported the scam on August 31 .
On Wednesday, police released information on a similar scam case involving gift cards that cost an elderly Rochester man $7,000. Captain Casey Moilanen says a person asking for gift card numbers to alleviate a financial issue is an indication of a scam.