Lacey Woman Conned Out Of $900 By Phone Scammer

LACEY TOWNSHIP, NJ - Don't let this happen to you. A township woman is out $900 after she responded to a phone scam, Police Chief Michael C. DiBella said.

Officer Michael Hein responded to police headquarters to take a fraud report at 10:24 a.m. on Dec. 2. A woman told police she had received a call from a man with an accent who identified himself as "Alex," the chief said

He told the victim she was owed $300 for a software upgrade and asked for her bank account information so he could deposit the refund. After she gave him her information, the man told her he had accidentally transferred $1,000 into her account and that she needed to go to the nearest Rite Aid store and buy 10 gift cards, DiBella said.

The woman became suspicious, contacted her bank and closed her account. But $900 had already been withdrawn, the chief said.

Photo: Courtesy of Lacey Township Police Department