FINANCIAL DISTRICT — A city employee was bilked out of $6,000 in a variation on a phone scam that police have long been trying to combat.
The 27-year-old woman told police that scammers pretending to the FBI called her cellphone threatened her with arrest if she didn't immediately pay money — via prepaid gift cards.
A person claiming to be an FBI agent told the victim there were three criminal charges pending against her because she filed her tax information incorrectly, and that she would be arrested and lose her job if she did not quickly send $6,000.
The woman, who received the call while at work at the Department of City Planning at 120 Broadway on Dec. 13 at about 11 a.m, was instructed to buy prepaid gift cards, then give the card information to the caller.
The victim immediately went to a nearby Rite Aid and bought several Target gift cards, then gave the card's information to the thieves, said police, who were still investigating the incident.
Police have been trying to up their efforts to warn the public about such scams, which have affected victims across the city.
🚨Alert 🚨#IRS + any prepaid gift card = Scam!
— NYPD 1st Precinct (@NYPD1Pct) October 11, 2016
Hang up before they even say arrest warrant. pic.twitter.com/pUZSLzTXud
