A 21-year-old woman was scammed out of just over $1,000 on Tuesday.
Bloomington Police Department Capt. Ryan Pedigo said the woman received a call from a man with an accent. The man told her to go to her bank and take out all the money in her account, which was just over $1,000.
The woman abided to the request because she had lost her passport in Colorado, so she thought someone had gotten her information from that, Pedigo said.
Pedigo said the woman was instructed to go to Target, purchase gift cards using the money from her bank account and then give the man the gift card numbers.
After she had given the man the gift card numbers, the woman told police he asked her about her parent’s bank information.
The man told the woman to call her parents and give a fabricated medical story, stating she needed $5,000, Pedigo said. Her mother became suspicious, and the woman explained what had happened to her. Her mother then told her she had fallen for a scam and told her to call BPD.
By the time BPD contacted Target, all the gift cards had been spent, Pedigo said.
This investigation is still active.
