MBG-2023-01-0219
On January 9th, 2023, at approximately 2:18 pm, the police department was contacted by the victim regarding a scam. The victim who resides in the 200 block of South Filbert Street advised they had been contacted through Facebook messenger regarding a federal grant. The victim clicked on the link and eventually started exchanging messages with an individual who identified themselves as being associated with the grant program. The victim was advised they just needed to send $6500 cash through Fed Ex to begin the process. The victim did so. The victim was later contacted and told they needed to purchase $500 in gift cards and provide the numbers on the backs of the cards in order to claim their funds. The victim did this as well. The victim kept communicating with the individual to only be told they needed to send another $7000 cash through Fed Ex to finish up the grant and have the funds distributed. The victim sent this amount. They realized it might be a scam after being asked to again send more money. The victim was advised it was indeed a scam.
The cash was sent to an address in Tennessee. Contact was made with the local Sheriff’s Department in Tennessee. They went to the residence and identified the person living there. They were a victim to a scam where they were receiving payments at their residence. They were being directed to purchase cryptocurrency after depositing the money into bank accounts. The deputies there were able to recover half of the money the victim sent to the address. An investigation is still ongoing.