Des Plaines woman loses $8,000 to man posing as federal agent, police say

A man posing as a federal agent scammed a Des Plaines woman out of $8,000 last week, police said.

The impostor called the woman on April 5 and said he was with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and that she was suspected of illegal activity, according to a news release. The caller said the woman would be arrested if she didn’t pay an $8,000 fine, according to the release.

The woman then went to her bank, withdrew the money, went to a Bitcoin machine and deposited it into an account as directed by the impostor, police said.