Elderly targeted in phone scam

MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- An elderly resident was scammed out of thousands of dollars from a MoneyPak phone scam.

"I'll tell the cashier I need a MoneyPak card, I want to put $200 on this card," said Officer Jeffrey Nielsen, Milford PD. "You'll see on this card, there's a number, that number is like money. One giving MoneyPak number to someone over the phone, or though an email, it's like handing them your wallet."

Milford Police say that is exactly what an elderly woman did after being scammed, losing $8,600.

"Someone had called her and said she had won $15 million in funds and two cards, so the fraudster informed her before she can claim the prizes, she would have to send money prior to the release," said Officer Nielsen.

The scam artist told her to put money on the MoneyPak cards and then she later gave them the security numbers on the back.

"Once you use these, specific forms, there's no way to trace this," Officer Nielsen said.

The calls were made from two different area codes. One is 876, that's Jamaica, and the other is 702, that is Southern Nevada.

"Usually the area codes, if they have internet access, one good way to find out you're being scammed is to put that number in the internet, Google it," said Officer Nielsen. "Because other people that have been scammed by these phone numbers, people calling these phones, they'll post these things."

A family member became aware of the scam and contacted police. Meanwhile, Milford Police continue to reach out to civic and senior groups to warn people about these scams before they reach for the plastic cash.

"Someone is calling you with something you didn't solicit, you didn't enter a sweepstakes, you didn't enter a foreign lottery, and these people tell ya you won something, pretty large amounts they're telling you, too good to be true," said Officer Nielsen.