A Coconut Creek Police officer stopped an 80-year-old woman from sending money to a scammer after finding her before she was fleeced, according to a police body-camera video.
The video shows Officer Michael Baker speaking calmly with the woman and warning her that she was being defrauded.
“I was supposed to get $70 million and a car,” the woman tells Baker in the video.
“I need you to listen very carefully,” Baker tells her in response. “You’re being scammed, okay? This is not a real thing. Please do not go get money and give it to anybody.”
According to Coconut Creek Police spokesperson Scotty Leamon, scammers had convinced the woman to purchase a money card with scratch-off numbers on it, a common sign of fraud.
“That right there is always a sign of a scam,” Baker tells the woman after she describes scratching off the card and giving someone the numbers.
Baker also explained how scammers often direct victims to stores such as Walgreens to buy gift cards or reloadable money cards, then falsely claim money will be waiting for them at their bank.
“You’re going to get to the bank, and they’re going to say, ‘No, ma’am,’” Baker tells her, urging her not to send more money.
”I won’t do it again,” the woman said.
Leamon praised Baker’s handling of the call, saying the officer was patient, nonjudgmental, and focused on winning the woman’s trust.
Police used the video to warn residents about common fraud schemes involving gift cards, prepaid cards, and money cards. Once a scammer obtains the card information, the money can often be drained immediately, according to police.
“There’s a scammer out there that really hates this video,” Leamon said. “And a conman’s [cursing police] because he didn’t get his money. Well, that’s our love language for the Coconut Creek Police Department.”
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