The Bellefontaine Police Department is warning residents to be on the lookout for online scams after a Bellefontaine woman reported losing nearly $1,200 to a fraud scheme Wednesday evening.
According to the police report, the woman came to the Bellefontaine Police Department after seeing a pop-up message while using the Safari web browser.
The alert claimed there was an Apple fraud charge of $149.99 on her account and instructed her to call a phone number for assistance.
After calling the number, the victim was told by an unknown man to download WhatsApp so he could help resolve the issue.
Once connected through the messaging app, the suspect convinced her to provide her Amazon username and password.
Police say the suspect then accessed her Amazon account and purchased five $200 virtual Amazon gift cards and one valued at $194.51 using two credit cards linked to the account.
The gift cards were then redeemed by the suspect.
The scammer also attempted to persuade the woman to purchase a $250 Foot Locker online gift card.
At that point, she became suspicious, canceled the Foot Locker purchase, and was also able to cancel one of the $200 Amazon gift cards before it was redeemed.
An officer assisted the victim in contacting her credit card companies to cancel the cards and dispute the fraudulent charges.
She also blocked the suspect on WhatsApp, removed the app from her phone, deleted her saved payment methods from her Amazon account, and was advised to change her Amazon password immediately.
Police remind residents that legitimate companies such as Apple will not display pop-up messages instructing customers to call a phone number or download messaging apps to resolve account issues.
Anyone receiving similar messages should close the browser window and contact the company directly using official customer service information.
