- April 25, 2024
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A scammer posing as a computer technician cheated a Palm Coast woman out of thousands of dollars, convincing her to buy $42,000 in Target gift cards and give him their codes.
The crime began Nov. 23 when the victim, 72, got a call from someone who said he worked with her computer company, All Network Care, according to a Flagler County Sheriff's Office case report.
The caller, who identified himself as "Jeff," said the company wanted to reimburse her $300 in annual fees because of some kind of technical issue.
The caller said that in order to do that, he needed to remotely access her computer. She gave him access.
But she then saw him accessing her bank account.
"At this point, she did not like what they were doing, so she turned off her computer," according to the case report.
"Jeff" then called the victim again and said that when she'd turned her computer off, some of his money was transferred into her account.
The computer was locked, and the victim couldn't use it to look up her bank account information.
The man told her that in order to satisfy the difference in her account, she needed to get Target gift cards and give him the codes over the phone.
Over the course of two days, she purchased dozens of Target gift cards with $1000 on each card.
She gave "Jeff" the codes. As the scam progressed, he told her the codes on some didn't work, prompting her to buy more: Ultimately, she bought 42 Target gift cards, each of them worth $1,000.
When she spoke with a Sheriff's Office deputy on Nov. 27, the victim wasn't initially sure how many cards she'd bought. She'd checked the balances on the ones she could find, and they were all used.
She was still unable to access her online banking account, but was able to contact the bank and tell them what happened.
A Sheriff's Office deputy placed the gift cards into evidence.
