By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
A rural Saline County man is out $6,200 after being scammed via telephone.
On Tuesday, a 59-year-old resident of northeastern Saline County received a phone call from someone claiming to be the "chief council" of the Social Security office, according to Saline County Undersheriff Brent Melander.
The caller told the man that law enforcement had located a vehicle in Texas that had blood all over it and the man's Social Security card inside. Additionally, there was a warrant for the man's arrest. The call came from a 443 area code.
The caller told the man that if he provided the numbers to $6,200 worth of gift cards, the caller could get the warrant dismissed, Melander said. The man was told that he needed to stay on the phone with the caller while he purchased the gift cards and that he would need to provide the gift card numbers as he bought the cards.
Melander said the man purchased $1,000 worth of gift cards from Walmart; $2,000 worth of gift cards from Sam's Club; $1,000 worth of gift cards from Target; $1,200 worth of gift cards from Apple iTunes and $1,000 worth of gift cards from Go Play Golf
Overnight, the man realized that he probably was scammed, so he called back and talked to the same person who called the first time. That person told the man that he could issue a refund, but would need $1,000 to start the refund process, Melander said. Once additional money was required, the Saline County man hung up.
Melander said there was little the sheriff's office could do in this case or cases like it. He offered a reminder that warrants cannot be taken care of over the phone. Additionally, he said that government entities do not take payments via gift cards.