Residents Fall Victim to Scammers and Lose Thousands

Authorities are warning area residents of the latest scams, in which at least 2 people have fallen victim, losing thousands of dollars.

In the last 2 weeks, there have been 2 incidents in the Manchester area, where an elderly person was the target of a scam.

In the first incident, a caller told the victim that their banking account was tied to some illegal drug activity and money laundering in Texas. The caller claims to be an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration in Dallas.

After getting comfortable talking to the caller, the victim is instructed to withdraw all of their money from the bank, use it to buy Google Play Cards at area businesses, call the alleged agent back and give him the card's numbers and security pin. They tell the victim her money will be placed in a secure account. The first victim lost $4,500, and was about to lose another thousand, but an alert store clerk explained she was being scammed.

The other incident involved a person claiming to be the victim's friend, claiming they were arrested in Chicago and needed money for bail. Another person who claimed to be an attorney, instructed the victim to buy $2,000 worth of ebay gift cards at area stores, call the scammer back, then give him the card numbers.

If anyone receives a similar call, contact local law enforcement and never give out financial information over the phone.