Scam alert. MWC file photo.
MERRILL, WI (WSAU) — At least two Lincoln County residents reported scams from someone claiming to be from Amazon last week.
On Tuesday a 73-year-old woman from Merrill told officers she had been contacted by someone who said her account had been hacked and over $5,000 in purchases were made. She was told the charges could be cleared if she provided the scammer with gift cards. Officers say she lost about $1,500 in the incident.
The next day a Tripoli woman also reported that she was contacted by an Amazon imposter. Officers said she did turn over some banking information to the caller, but quickly realized her mistake and called her bank to freeze her accounts. According to officers, she did not lose any money in the incident.
A third scam was also reported last week involving the Google Hangouts messaging app. This one involved a 57-year-old Irma woman who was messaging a person claiming to be in Europe on business. After several weeks of chatting, the woman sent a $5,000 check to the sister of the man’s attorney. She was promised a check in return but that never showed up.
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