Hackettstown Woman Scammed Out Of $2,200: Police

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ - An 82-year-old woman was taken for more than 2,000 in a scam on Sept. 2, according to the Hackettstown Police Department.

Police said the woman received an email, which she believed to be Apple Inc., in reference to a charge on her account that pertains to a game that was purchased.

The victim never purchased a game so she contacted the company and spoke with a woman regarding who wanted her to remain on the phone and go to a nearby store to purchase Apple
gift cards and not to be concerned because Apple would reimburse her for the expenses, police said.

The victim went to a store but the store did not have Apple cards so the woman told her that Google cards would be sufficient. The victim then purchased eleven gift cards totaling $2,200 and supplied the woman with the card’s information, police said.

Then the woman allegedly told the victim that something may have been wrong because the cards never processed, and she requested she purchase an additional $2,000 to redo the transaction, police said. The victim then went to purchase more gift cards but when she went to use her debit card it was declined and no further cards were purchased, police said.

Authorities remind residents:

• Gift cards are for gifts, not for payments. If someone calls with urgent news or a convincing story and then pressures you to pay them by buying a gift card, like an iTunes or Google Play card, and then giving them the codes on the back of the card – stop. It’s a scam.

Report scams by filing a complaint at ftc.gov/complaint. Be sure to include:

• Date and time of the call
• Name of the agency the imposter used
• What they tell you, including the amount of money and the payment
• method they ask for
• Phone number of the caller; although scammers may use technology to
• create a fake number or spoof a real one, law enforcement agents may be
• able to track that number to identify the caller
• Any other details from the call

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.