Phone Scam Costs Yuma Elderly Man $22K - | News for Yuma, Imperial Valley, El Centro, AZ & CA

Phone Scam Costs Yuma Elderly Man $22K

The Yuma County Sheriff's Office wants people to be on alert for suspicious calls asking for money.

One man is out 22-thousand dollars, the victim of a scam apparently targeting the elderly.

YCSO says the man was targeted twice this weekend. On Saturday, the caller told him he had won big in a lottery, but he had to pay first in order to collect.

On Sunday, a second phone call came. This time the caller was posing as a member of the FBI, telling the man he owed back taxes. The caller told the victim if he didn't pay up, he'd be arrested.

The man lost 22-thousand dollars in the two-day scam.

Capt. Eben Bratcher of the Sheriff's Office says if potential victims miss the warning signs, they can kiss their money goodbye.

"If they start to ask you to either wire money or to use the new Money Pak gift cards, absolutely 100 percent guaranteed ... You're being scammed. You give them that card, you mail it to them at a fictitious address they provide or you give them the account number over the telephone, they can withdraw that money anywhere, and it's gone ... virtually untraceable." says Capt. Bratcher.

Capt. Bratcher says the calls came from Jamaica, and phone scams are frequently conducted from outside the country. He says the best thing to do if you think you're being scammed is hang up the phone.