By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS — The victim of a fraud scam called police to document the incident after she was defrauded of $200.
On Feb. 3, the victim said she received a phone call from a person she did not know, claiming to be with DTE Energy. She was advised her gas was going to be shut off unless she purchased a MoneyPAK prepaid credit card for $174.28.
The caller asked the victim questions like, “Do you have cash at your home? “Do you have $100 in cash at home? “Do you have a debit card at home?” and “Can you go to the ATM?” the victim said.
According to the report, the victim said she does not have cash and cannot go to the ATM due to being charged fees. The victim had $200 in cash at her house but did not want the caller to know.
She went to a Walgreens store and purchased the requested credit card for $200 then provided the credit card number and PIN to the caller.
The victim provided the caller with the extra $25.72 to put more toward the bill. When she was asked who to contact to confirm the payment, she was provided with an account department phone number. She dialed the phone number which was answered by an unknown man claiming to be with DTE Energy, but when she mentioned a name the man ended the call.
The victim later realized she was a victim of a scam.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])