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Scams cost Des Plaines, Mount Prospect residents thousands

Residents of Des Plaines and Mount Prospect were scammed out of about $10,000 recently, according to police blotter reports.

A Des Plaines man lost $5,500 between 2 and 7:33 p.m. April 29 after he received a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS. He was told an arrest warrant would be issued if he did not pay taxes owed from 2009 to 2014.

The man knew he had paid his taxes but he was frightened and followed the caller's instructions. He was told to purchase iTunes cards, which he obtained in Des Plaines, Niles and Rosemont, providing the numbers on the backs of the cards to the unknown person on the phone.

A Mount Prospect woman lost $4,000 between April 27 and May 3 after she received several phone calls telling her she had won $2.2 billion.

She was advised to send $960 in processing fees to an individual in North Carolina. Later, she was told additional money was needed and should be sent to an individual in Alabama. She was contacted repeatedly and eventually sent a total of $6,550.

When her family convinced her that she was being scammed, she was able to cancel the last payment of $2,550 before the offenders could cash it.

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