TROY (WWJ) - An Oakland County woman learned a hard lesson last month after she believed she was sorting out a hacking incident involving a fraudulent purchase of porn, but instead got scammed out of thousands of dollars.
The Troy Police Department is warning residents to remain diligent of online scams and fraudulent phone numbers after a local woman fell victim to a peculiar scheme and lost out on $2,000.
Authorities say a local woman first became involved in the scam when she suspected her email had been hacked on Oct. 29. She attempted to find contact information for AOL to report the issue through a Google search when she came across an official-looking phone number and dialed it.
The woman was told by a male who answered at the end of the line that her online account, as well as her bank account, had in fact been used to purchase $2000 of pornography.
"The victim stated the charges were not hers and the male suspect told her he was connecting her to the fraud department of her credit union," police said in a statement regarding the incident. "The victim spoke with a second suspect who advised her in order to get her money back, she would need to go to Target and purchase $2000 in gift cards."
Police said the victim did as instructed and provided pictures of the gift cards to the suspects.
When the woman contacted her bank, she became aware that she was scammed.
The Michigan Attorney General's Office said one of the biggest indicators that you're being tricked is being asked to purchase repaid debit cards, gift cards, or store cards with a request to read the numbers on the card.
"Scammers are creative, coming up with new and more effective ways to trick you into handing over money or personal information," authorities said. "Arming yourself with knowledge about their current tactics is the best way to make sure you don’t get scammed."
For more information, visit the Michigan Department of Attorney General's website for frequent alerts on various scams.