Authorities looking for caller who scammed a California woman out of $1 million
Scammers recently conned a woman into sending them more than $1 million after claiming to be representatives of Walmart and threatening her with arrest if the amount wasn’t paid, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Rancho Cucamonga Station deputies said in a statement released Friday, Dec. 29.
On Wednesday, Dec. 27, at around 12:59 P.M., Rancho Cucamonga station deputies responded to the report of a theft. Authorities learned that at some point on October, a 79-year-old woman was contacted by a caller who claimed to be a representative of WalMart International, Friday’s statement said.
The representative told the victim her identity had been stolen and possible fraud had occurred, requiring her to deposit $1.25 million into a Bank of America account, and that she would be arrested if she did not comply. The victim complied and transferred the funds, authorities said.
The victim received another call in December asking for more money and threatened she would be arrested or killed if she didn’t comply, deputies said.
Authorities are working with the victim and financial institutions to identify the suspects involved. Friday’s statement include reminders about how to identity scam callers.
The statement noted that government agencies and local law enforcement will not call you asking for money or your personal information. If you suspect a caller or email contact may be a scam, end the interaction and contact the business or entity directly to verify the nature of the call. Do not use contact information provided by the suspected caller/email, look up the company or agency’s information from trusted sources.
Anyone with information regarding the case can contact the Rancho Cucamonga Station at 909-477-2800.