Lorain police are investigating a new scam tactic after an elderly man was conned out of money by a person who claimed to be the country music singer Toby Keith.
According to authorities, the victim wrote about his financial trouble on social media and was contacted by the scammer on Twitter. The person claimed to be Toby Keith and told the victim he would help pay off his credit card debt. The scammer gave the victim a phone number to text and said he would need to purchase iTunes gift cards in exchange for the service.
The victim gave the scammer his credit card information and received a deposit to pay his credit card bills. After buying the gift cards, the victim noticed the pending deposits were canceled and fell off his account.
The man contacted authorities about the scam.
Lorain police released the following statement:
As always, we remind our citizens that when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Do not divulge your personal financial details to anonymous persons on the internet. And do not trust anyone who demands payment in gift cards. Scammers demand payment in some form of gift card in the majority of scam cases via the internet or telephone that are reported to our department.
As with most of these complaints, the victim in this case was a senior citizen. Please take the time to talk to your elderly friends, neighbors, and relatives who are not internet savvy and warn them of this trend.
