Iowa woman duped out of $1k by scammer posing as cop making threats

AMES – An Iowa woman was duped out of $1,000 by a scammer posing as a cop making threats, police say.

The Ames Police Department reports today that on this past Friday, a scammer who claimed to be an officer in the Ames Police Fraud Department, convinced an elderly woman to buy gift cards to avoid being sued for a fraudulent account that was allegedly opened in her name. The scammer stayed on the phone with his prey while she purchased the “approved gift cards”. However, a store employee caught on to the scam and called the real police. Unfortunately, the victim lost approx. $1,000 before an actual officer convinced the woman that police never ask for gift cards or other payments while investigating crimes.

“These scammers are very good at manipulating vulnerable people,” Ames police say.