Theft By Deception

DATE & TIME:  08-26-2019 @ 17:17
LOCATION:  Rural Cortland
OFFENSE:  Theft By Deception
CASE #:  2019-4570
On Monday, 08-26-2019, at approximately 5:17 pm an off duty Gage County
Sheriff’s Office investigator was at Wal-Mart when he overheard the cashier tell
another customer, "Ma'am, this sounds like a scam.". The investigator noticed
she was attempting to purchase a Wal-Mart gift card and she was telling him,
"No, he's helping me get a refund.".
The investigator identified himself as an investigator for the sheriff's office, asking
if he could be of assistance.
The customer stated she had been notified online that her Amazon account had
been charging her too much and when she called a number 877-887-8186 she
found on the Internet for Amazon. When she called the number a "Rich Patel"
told her Amazon had been charging her too much and asked to be allowed to
"control her computer" to verify that. She said he told her he had moved some
money around on her account, but then told her she needed to immediately go to
Wal-Mart and purchase a gift card and give him the redemption numbers on the
back, which she did. He then told her to go get another Wal-Mart gift card to
transfer more money, which she was in the process of doing when, through
serendipity, the Gage County investigator was nearby and an alert and
conscientious Wal-Mart employee was attempting to prevent her from being
scammed.
She stated he had been communicating with her via text message from the
phone number 808-633-9277 and he was still trying to communicate with her as I
interviewed her. She was advised to cease all communication with him and to
immediately call the fraud number on the back of her bank debit/credit card. She
believed "Rich Patel" had transferred money, but when she called the bank’s
fraud department via the phone number on her card, she learned she had
actually lost around $300.00.

After she finished her call with her bank, the investigator advised her to do the
same with her other bank account and any other credit or financial accounts she
may have.
It is unknown how she was initially contacted, however fake technical support or
other social engineering scams are continuously evolving and may have a
genesis in some spam e-mail, phishing contacted, an unrelated theft of
information from a business or other entity.
Sheriff Millard “Gus” Gustafson #903
Investigator T. Hanson #90310