Police: Des Plaines man scammed out of $20,000 by impostor posing as federal employee
A Des Plaines man was scammed out of $20,000 last month by someone posing as a federal employee, police said Thursday.
The 87-year-old victim reported receiving a text message that urged a phone call regarding a suspicious purchase, police said in a news release.
The man called the number and spoke with someone who claimed to work for the Federal Trade Commission. The impostor told the victim to withdraw $20,000 from his bank, put it in a bitcoin machine and send it to a specific account.
The man complied June 27 and then received repeated calls from people at different numbers who said he would face consequences if he didn’t deposit more money, police said. He reported the fraud to police July 2.
People should never send money to strangers when they’re contacted by text, phone or email, Des Plaines police have said.
Additionally, if someone claims by phone or text to be from a company, government agency or law enforcement organization, hang up and call reliable numbers to verify the caller actually works there, police said.
Running the phone number of a suspicious caller through an internet search engine can reveal whether the number is being used by scammers, police said.
More scam-prevention tips from Des Plaines police can be found online at shorturl.at/FFwR7.