A 57-year-old Linden woman told police that she was the victim of a scam and lost approximately $1,700.
According to police, the victims told officers that on Monday she received a call from a woman, “Karen Smith”, who told her that a check for $1,969.82 was deposited in her bank account.
The victim checked her account and did see the deposit as the woman stated.
The victim was soon instructed to go to a local pharmacy and purchase an Apple iTunes gift cards for the total amount of the deposit and call her back with the PIN numbers. Adding that the victim should not to talk to anyone in the store.
The victim purchased two gift cards for $500 and one for $700 and called Karen Smith with the PIN numbers.
She was then told that the money would be placed back into her account and she should wait for the deposit.
After a short while, the victim became suspicious and called her bank. It was then that the victim was told that the original check was bogus and her account was overdrawn.
Police warn residents not to fall prey to callers demanding any type of immediate payments through gift cards.