JONESBORO, Ark. – A woman fell victim to a scam over Facebook and is out $200 because of the mistake.
It was reported to Jonesboro Police Department at 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon. A woman, 60, said that morning, she was on her iPad when she noticed “problems” with her Facebook account.
The problems were just beginning.
She said she then went to Verizon, who gave her a number to “call Facebook,” according to the report. The woman said she called the number and spoke to a male named Jerry Paul. The victim said Paul told her the account was hacked by a “guy in Mexico.”
The victim was then instructed to go to Walmart and purchase two iTunes cards for $50 each and four iTunes cards for $25 each. She was then instructed to scratch the back of each card and read the numbers.
“He said that this would help in tracing the hacker and would stop the hacking,” the report said.
The unsuspecting woman was becoming a victim without realizing it.
She made the purchases and gave the numbers to “Jerry Paul,” who told her to buy another gift card from Walgreens. However, an employee there told her it was a scam. That’s when she reported the crime to JPD.
The crime of false impersonation is a misdemeanor but police generally find it challenging to locate scammers, due to geographical restrictions.
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