WAGONER, Okla. –
Wagoner County investigator Whalen Phipps is glad a check for $36,000 will soon be in the hands of a man who was scammed.
“It’s definitely a win,” said Phipps. “It’s not often that we have wins like these in cases like these.”
The victim first got a text from someone posing as Amazon Prime, asking to approve a nearly $1,000 purchase. The scammer then told the man there was a warrant for his arrest that was signed by the Supreme Court because the account was linked to criminal activity.
Next, the scammer ordered the victim to deposit a check for $36,000 into a bank account to avoid getting in trouble.
“It could have been just a matter of days or weeks or months that this money would’ve been completely gone and inaccessible to anybody within the United States,” said Phipps.
Investigators say the bank account is linked to somewhere in Hong Kong. Scammers often threaten victims with fines, shutting off services and even jail time.
“It scares them,” said Chris Elliott, Wagoner County Sheriff. “They panic and they go and they think I’ve got to solve this problem because I don’t want to go to jail, I don’t want to have my utilities turned off, and they will actually give money to keep that from happening.”
Deputies say scammers target the elderly on purpose. Phipps said the victim in this case is relieved to get his money back.
“He was working off of a fixed income, I believe he receives his money off of social security,” he said. “He was very ecstatic to be able to get these funds back.”
Law enforcement says scammers are getting more and more creative with advancing technology like artificial intelligence. An agency will never call and ask for money over the phone, so if anything seems suspicious, it is best to call for help right away.
It is difficult to prosecute scammers because they are mostly overseas, according to deputies.
